Sunshine in the Darkness
by Frozen in Idaho
Summary: Masaki was pregnant at her death. Her unborn child was thrown into Hueco Mundo as a baby arrancar. Found and raised by Ulquiorra, she rises to be the strongest arrancar, the best keep secret of Hueco Mundo, and has a fascination with a certain orange haired boy from the human world.
1. Prolog

I do not own Bleach.

...

Aizen pushed back his chair smiling as he watched the scene on the screen before him play out. It was all coming together, his plan. Standing he left the room as the soul of a women was consumed by a hallow as she protected her bright orange haired son.

…

Hueco Mundo

Ulquiorra was wandering the desert that was Hueco Mundo. He had stopped for a while and was looking up at the moon wondering about why he was on this "world." He wasn't able to talk to anyone. All the other hallows either fled his presence, or tried to attack him. It was because of this that he was immensely powerful. It was because of this that he felt so empty. His mind was still wondering over the weight that was pressing on him when he felt the sudden rise in spiritual pressure off in the outer reaches of his range. He looked over in the direction of the spiritual pressure, but he wasn't able to see anything. He stood there for several more moments before taking off in the direction he had felt the spiritual pressure.

It was further out then he original thought it was, but he keep going. He was surprised when he finally ran into something; all he could see was what appeared to be a coat from the human world. He looked around but upon not seeing anything else, he reached down and picked up the coat. Underneath it, to his surprise, was a small orange haired child; the bigger surprise was that it was hugging what appeared to be a Zanpakuto.

He just stared for a while before looking around as if expecting someone to come and get the human child. After it became apparent that no one would come, he reached to push the child off the sword. As soon as he touched it though, faster than he thought possible, the child flipped over grabbing his finger and stared at him. It was at the moment that he realized three things: one, the child was a female; two, it wasn't human, but an arrancar; third, it was the being that he felt the spiritual pressure from. As she held his finger, he felt her spiritual pressure rush into him, bringing him to his knees. Just as suddenly as the spiritual pressure came, it vanished. He sat there on his knees for several seconds as he regained his bearings.

He tried to pull his figure back but the child would not let go, and would lift off the ground before resting back on the ground. He repeated this process several times, and, much to his frustration, she wouldn't let go! After the third time the child started laughing and giggling smiling up at him. What felt like hours later, he finally picked up the child, holding her as he once again tried to take his finger out of her grasp. Several minutes later, he gave up, sitting down on the sand and once again looking up at the moon.

He was startled out of thinking when he felt the child shifting around deeper into his arms. He watched as the child drifted back off to sleep as he stared at her. He had to think. As he watched her sleep, he came to know several things. This child arrancar was not possible, but yet here was evidence right before his eyes. He also felt that she had been born this way and was not an arrancar from the usual way of evolving. She was also immensely powerful, more powerful he would say then the pair of arrancar he had seen long ago wandering the dessert, much as he did. Lastly, as he watched her sleep, he felt the emptiness that was inside of him begin to fill. In many ways she appeared to be brighter than the moon in the sky. In this way he watched her sleep.

As she slept, he took a moment to really look at her; she was one of the most fascinating things he had ever seen. Her hair was a bright orange color that almost seemed unnatural, and yet seemed to suit her perfectly. However, part of her head was shielded by a partial mask that was defined by two little bones crossed in an "x" right in the center. Her skin was smooth, and her brown eyes, sparkled.

An hour later she was still sleeping, but he had a feeling that he needed to leave the area. With the girl safely tucked in his arms he sonidoed away. He was going to keep this child safe, and to do that he felt that he needed to provide a home for her. Wandering aimlessly in this waste land would not help her. He took her to the very edge of Hueco Mundo – a place where the world seemed to just stop and a large cliff was all you could see in any direction – where he once lived.

It was the place of his birth. When he had left here, he never thought he would come back. He looked around and also felt for spiritual pressures other than his own and the child's. He felt a few but they were all weak. He looked one last time at the cave before him; taking a step inside he allowed a little of his spiritual pressure to leak, lighting the cave. He nodded his head. It would do.

They stayed in the cave for several weeks. He watched in amazement as the child grew fast, from crawling to walking. She was less than two feet tall and would babble to him. He found that even though he didn't understand what she said, it brought a smile to his face. She smiled every time she saw him. She was asleep now, and he watched her. He found that he had a hard time taking his eyes off her for fear that his little sunshine would be gone when he looked back. _His sunshine._ She truly was the sunshine that allowed him to feel whole. Brighter than the moon in the sky, she was everything to him.

Even as he thought this he felt hunger rip through his being. He fell to the ground, holding his sides. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. All he knew was that he had been overdue when he had taken in his sunshine, and, even though the last several weeks had brought him happiness, he could not deny that he was on the verge of reverting back to an adjuchas. His hunger was so great that he found himself climbing towards the child. His hand was open to crush her head when her eyes opened, looking directly at him.

All of a sudden, he found himself outside, running towards the nearest source of spiritual pressure. The poor adjuchas that had wandered to the surface never stood a chance. Ulquiorra felt the cold blood run down his face as he feasted. As he stood, he was horrified with himself. He had tried to eat his sunshine! How could he ever think to do such a thing? He only had the sense to run the opposite direction before his hunger once again took over and he was on the hunt.

It was several hours later that he ran back to the cave. How foolish he had been! First he had allowed his hunger to become so uncontrollable that it had put her at risk. If he were to become an adjuchas, he wouldn't be able to protect her. Because of his hunger, he had been gone for well over seven hours; she could be dead. As he approached the cave; he felt the signatures of several strong hollows closing in.

At that moment, he moved faster than he ever had before; he was in such a fury that he didn't notice that the spiritual pressure signatures were being destroyed until he got there and found the cave empty except for her.

Upon seeing him, she smiled and walked to him, crying out happily. He fell to his knees, gathering her up in his arms and holding her tight. He sat there for a couple of minutes before pulling back and looking her up and down to make sure she was okay. It was then that he noticed she was holding what appeared to be a hollow mask. As he looked around the room he saw that their cave was full of hollow masks.

He looked down at her again then back at the room. She had done this. She had destroyed all the hollows he had sensed. She started to shake because of the way he was acting. Quickly he picked her up and they left the cave. He would find a better place, one where she wouldn't have to defend herself like that again. He hummed sweetly to her until she once again fell asleep in his arms.


	2. Chapter 1 An Encounter With Loneliness

I do not own Bleach.

...

Chapter 1 An Encounter With Loneliness

Ulquiorra smiled as he sonidoed. His sunshine was holding on to his neck as they traveled. Over the past year they had moved around a lot. She had grown a lot - almost three feet tall. Her orange hair was down to her lower back and was flying out behind them as they sonidoed. Her mask had shrunk to the point where it was only the size of her fist perfectly round with the crossed bones still in the middle. He had found her a single tube of cloth he had gotten from a hollow he had killed for her to wear. It was a deep purple that set off her bright orange hair.

He felt her giggle in his ear, "Faster Ulquiorra, faster." He smiled again, going faster. Only moments into his run, he felt her weight leave his back as she sonidoed beside him. "Catch me Ulqiorra!" She then raced off into the distance.

He picked up his pace again, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to catch her. She way by far the fastest hollow he had ever met. She had learned to sonido shortly after they left their first home, and since then he had never been able to catch her. Even so, she loved the silly game of hers and would run. Thankfully, she never went out of his range and would wait for him when she was done. They had played this game once for over a week. By the time it was done he had barley been able to stand and had collapsed on the sand. She had appeared at his side in an instant to make sure he was okay. Since then, she never played for more than two days in a row.

They had been playing for several hours straight when all of a sudden she stopped. He was startled because not only had she stopped abruptly, but she was looking off into the distance as if she had sensed something. As he drew closer to her he also felt the increase in spiritual pressure of another being nearby. When he reached her he picked her up.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't look at him just keep staring off in the direction of the spiritual pressure as she replied, "He's lonely."

He looked off in the direction she was looking, stretching his ability to sense the spiritual pressure better. From what he could tell, it was two large spiritual pressures; they almost felt familiar. "How do you know that they are lonely?"

She gently shook her head. "No he is lonely." She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

He could tell that she wanted to go and see the hollow that was suffering. However, he had a feeling in his gut that he should not let her meet whatever incredible force he was feeling. "I will go and see what the matter is, but you have to stay here until I say it's safe." He watched her closely as she nodded and looked back off in the direction of the hollows. He gently put her on the ground. He gave her one last look before sonidoing away.

They were far away and it was almost fifteen minutes before he was finally able to see the two figures. They were both arrancars; one was a tall man with shoulder length brown hair with a sword at his side, with a short girl with pale light green hair and a full mask on top of her head. He remembered seeing them many years ago. The man was sitting down in the sand and the little girl seemed to be yelling at him for being lazy.

He was still trying to decide what to do when suddenly the man locked eyes with him in a lazy manner and called out, "You can come out you know."

Ulquiorra stiffened at having been sensed, but rose from his crouched position and walked down the sand dune towards them. As he drew closer he watched as the girl's face widened in surprise the closer he got, and even the man's eyes widen slightly and he rose to his feet.

"Who are you, hollow?" The man asked.

He debated whether to tell them or not, but, after thinking about it a long time, he didn't find any harm in telling them; as long as they didn't know about his sunshine, she would be fine. "Ulquiorra, who are you?"

The man answered, "My name is Coyote Starrk, and this is my other half Lilynette Gingerback."

Both parties stared at each other for several more minutes before the girl seemed to break out of her daze and kicked Starrk before turning towards Ulquiorra, throwing a kick towards his head as she yelled, "How are you still alive?"

Ulquiorra easily dodged the attack and continued to do so until Starrk grabbed Lilynette by the back of her shirt, holding her up in the air. "Sorry, but how are you alive?"

Ulquiorra looked at them once again thinking about what they said, "I don't understand what you mean."

Starrk sighed and after receiving a kick from an angry Lilynette; he held her out further from his body. "Ever since I came to this world any hollow who tried to get close to me would instantly die. So how are you alive?"

He thought about what Starrk had said. "I'm not sure, but maybe I'm strong enough to be near you?" He had barely finished his sentence when one of his biggest fears happened. He turned in the direction of were his sunshine's spiritual pressure had been just a moment ago.

"What. . .?" Starrk started, but Ulquiorra didn't hear anymore as he raced off at top speed to where his sunshine's spiritual pressure had just vanished from. In less than a minute, he felt himself jerked to a stop by a hand on his arm. He turned around to see Starrk holding his arm with an almost desperate hold. "Where are you going?" One look at Ulquiorra's face and he could tell he was in a panic. He let him go, and, as he vanished before him again, Starrk whispered, "Visit us again."

Lilynette appeared at his side then, and off in the distance she could feel Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure vanishing. She quickly kicked Starrk then walked back the way she had come.

…

Ulquiorra arrived at the place he had left her, but there was no sign of where she had gone. He let out an unearthly scream into the night as he collapsed to his knees. The emptiness he hadn't felt in a year came crushing down on him. She was gone. His sunshine was gone.


	3. Chapter 2 The Orange Haired Boy

I do not own Bleach

*Author's Note: "Sunshine" is our main character, and we'd like to make note that she is growing physically and mentally at an unnaturally exponential rate. Hueco Mundo time is 2 ½ times faster than human time.

...

Chapter 2 The Orange Haired Boy

She watched Ulquiorra leave. She stood there wishing he hadn't made her stay. The feeling of loneliness she was feeling from the man was almost stifling her. She wanted to go to him and feel that loneliness, just as she had helped Ulquiorra feel the emptiness she had felt from him from the beginning.

As she waited, she began to feel a tug on her spiritual energy. Confused, she looked around but couldn't see anything. The more she focused on the feeling, she felt as if the connection was crying out in pain and darkness. She looked one more time towards where Ulquiorra had gone. He would help the lonely man, so she would go and help the person that was lost. With no conscious thought, acting on instinct, she threw her arm out in a horizontal line. A rip opened in the air that she quickly stepped through and began running along a glowing path the appeared before her feet.

She didn't notice the hole behind her or the feeling of panic she felt from another thread attached to her spiritual energy. It didn't take long before she popped out another hole at the end of the tunnel. What met her eyes surprised her. There were so many things she had never seen before. This place wasn't anything like Hueco Mundo. There where colors she had never seen before all around her. At least, that's what she thought they were called.

She found herself giggling as she turned around to see it all. As she did, a flash of bright orange caught her attention. She quickly hid behind one of the green objects. A boy was standing a ways away, kicking a small object on the ground. With a start, she realized it was the tug she had felt on her spiritual energy was coming from him. As she watched him from the shadows a piece of her hair fell in her face. She was startled as she compared her hair to the boy's; they were the same color.

Her smile grew even bigger. She followed the boy for several minutes, not entirely sure what she should do. She had only ever talked to Ulquiorra and didn't know how to talk to others. She was startled when she felt a shift in the spiritual energy in the air.

She watched as a hollow came out and looked around. She watched it with curiosity as it seemed to look around; she watched it look towards the orange haired boy, give a cruel smile, and started running towards him. She saw Ulquiorra in her mind when he told her that other hollows were evil creatures, that if they had the chance, they would eat her. In that moment she knew that the hollow before her was going to eat the orange haired boy!

Her body was in motion before she even knew it. She felt her sword materialize in her hand. It was longer than she was at over three feet long. The bright yellow grip seemed out of place with the pure white sword. She found herself yelling as she swung downward at the hollow's mask; it was inches away from attacking the boy. She felt herself smile as it dissolved before her. Her smile quickly turned into a gasp of surprise as she realized she was on a hill and was falling off the edge. Her sword vanished as she pulled herself into a ball.

…

Today was the year mark of his mother's death. It had been entirely his fault. His dad had brought him, Yuzu, and Karin to the grave site. He couldn't do it though. He was the one responsible for all the sadness and the fact that the house once filled with laughter was quiet.

Ichigo stood as far back as he could. Eventually his father had come over and told him that if he wanted, he could go wander as long as he came back in two hours. So that's what he had done; he had run away. He wasn't strong enough to stay. He had found a nearby park and had been walking for ten minutes. He had taken to kicking a rock to pass the time. He really didn't want to talk to anyone, so when he saw people, he quickly changed directions to avoid them.

He was still kicking that same rock when he heard an angry yell that caused him to turn around. What he saw surprised him. It was a little girl in a purple dress flying through the air towards him with her hands held in front of her like she was holding something, but there was nothing there. What caught his attention the most though was her hair. It streamed behind her like a fire – a very bright orange fire. He watched her smile before her eyes went wide.

He watched in shock as she fell rolling down the hill. Eyes wide, he ran down the hill after her, yelling.

When he got there, he rolled her on to her back. He was startled that she was smiling up at him. "Are . . . are you okay?"

She sat up, still with a smile on her face, "Yep!"

He found himself giving a sigh of relief. "What were you doing?"

"I was killing a monster!" She beamed up at him with pride.

A monster? Upon closer look, she looked to be around three years of age. "Where is your family?" He stood up, pulling her along with him, and looking around to see if there was anyone else around.

"What's a family?" She looked at him quizzically.

He noticed that she hadn't let go of his hand; he looked down at it before looking back at her face, "You know, a family. Your parents and siblings?"

"What are parents and siblings?"

"Ah… Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters?"

"Mom, dad, brother, sisters?"

Seeing that this conversation wasn't going anywhere, he decided to try another way. "Where are the people that you came with?"

He watched her smile and answer proudly, "I came by myself!"

He face palmed himself. "Okay, let's try something else," he mumbled under his breath. "What's your name?"

She looked quizzically at him again. "What's a name?"

His eyes went wide; how could she not even know what a name was! "It's what people call you; my name is Ichigo."

He watched her sound out his name before smiling, "Ichigo. I like your name!"

"What's your name?"

She sat there and seemed to think for a while. "Ulquiorra calls me his sunshine. Is that a name?"

"No, sunshine isn't a name."

He watched the smile fall off her face, and it looked like she was about to cry. "Do I not have a name?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Ummmm . . ." He was at a loss. "Let's find Ulquiorra, and we can ask what your name is?"

She seemed to smile at this. "I can ask Ulqui! But he's not here, so you can't ask him." Once again, she looked up at him like he was silly.

Clutching her hand a little tighter, he looked her in the eyes, "Let's go look around for your family." He regretted running from people now because there was no one is sight. He headed off in the direction he had come from. She was skipping and humming alongside him, throwing looks his way every so often.

At one point, she tugged his arm, causing him to look down at her. She was holding her hair in her hand, holding it up for him to see. "It's the same color as yours!"

He found himself smiling. "Yes, it is." At that point, he spotted a man rounding the corner, so he ran up to him. "Excuse me sir, but have you ever seen this girl before?"

The man looked down at Ichigo. "What girl?"

Ichigo looked at him in surprise. "This little girl right here." He looked down at her; she was smiling up at him.

The man looked at him like was crazy. "Are you okay son? There is no one there? Do you need help finding your parents?" The man reached down to grab him.

Ichigo jumped back. "What do you mean? She's right here, holding my hand!"

"It's okay son; we will find your parents and they will be able to help you." The man made a lunge to grab Ichigo again.

Ichigo was freaked out, and dodged again. He looked down to confirm that she was clearly there. Turning, he ran away from the man who was yelling for him to stop. They ran for a long time with the girl giggling all the way. Once Ichigo was sure they had lost the man, he stopped.

"That was fun! Can we play again?"

Ichigo looked at the girl who was still holding his hand. "Why couldn't he see you?"

She tilted her head as she thought about it. "I don't know."

What was going on!? He had never heard of anything like this before. He dropped her hand and sat down on the grass. He had to think about this. She sat beside him and leaned against him.

There had to be a reason for this. The only thing he could think of was that she was a part of his imagination. It would explain how she was fine falling down the hill, why the man couldn't see her, why she didn't have a name, and why their hair was the same color. But if she was in his imagination, shouldn't she know everything he did?

He had overheard Yuzu talking to herself once – she had said she was talking to her friend – but there had been no one there. When he had asked his mom about it, she had said that Yuzu had an imaginary friend. Maybe the girl beside him was his imaginary friend? He looked at her again. He had never had an imaginary friend and didn't even know where to start. Maybe he should ask Yuzu later? First things first though, if she was a part of his imagination, he should give her a name, right?

"Can . . . can I give you a name?" He asked her.

She looked up at him with a smile and sparkling eyes. "You would give me a name!?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, I would love a name!"

He sat there thinking. She was so bright and happy that it made him forget all that had happened over the last year. In many ways, she was like the rising sun the cleared away the dark of night that he was living in. He remembered her saying something about being called "sunshine" when they had first met."Hinata!" He looked down at her. "What about Hinata? It means 'sunny place', or 'faces the sun,' like a sunflower. I learned about it in school the other day."

She seemed to be sounding it out, tasting it out on her lips. "Hinata. I like that. I'm Hinata."

He found himself smiling. They then spent the next two hours playing. He found himself grateful for Hinata's friendship. She lived up to her name and truly brought him happiness.

She had just talked him into rolling down the hill with her when he heard his name being called. He looked over at her with grass in her hair. "It's time for us to go." She looked at him quizzically again. "My dad is calling and we need to go home with him."

"Okay," she said as she bounced to her feet. He rose to his feet and grabbed her hand to take her towards where he could hear his father yelling. They had only taken a few steps when he felt a tug on his arm and found her a step behind, looking off into the distance. "I can't go, Ichigo."

He felt panic rise in his stomach. "What do you mean? They won't mind; it will be fine!"

She slowly shook her head, looking off in the distance. "Ulqui needs me now." She let go of his hand and started walking towards the trees.

"Wait," he called after her, grabbing her small hand in his. "Will I ever see you again?"

She smiled back up at him. "I will come back when you need me. I had a lot of fun." She gave one more smile before she vanished before his eyes.


	4. Chapter 3 Return

I do not own Bleach

. . .

Chapter 3 Return to the World of the Living

Hinata landed back on the sands of Hueco Mundo. She was sad to see all the colors leave. She turned around, looking for Ulquiorra. He wasn't very far away, but he was curled up in a small ball. She felt emptiness radiating off of him. She walked up to him, bent down, and looked into his eyes.

"Ulqu…" She had barely started to say his name when his head snapped up. Upon seeing her, he grabbed her in a bone crushing hug. She hugged him back for about five minutes before she became impatient and began to squirm, wanting to tell him all about her day.

"Ulqui, you'll never believe what I did today! I made a new friend named Ichigo, and he has the same color hair as me. He also gave me a name!"

Ulquiorra looked down at her, confusion in his eyes. "Ichigo?"

"Yep! He gave me the name 'Hinata'. It means 'sunshine,' just like what you call me, but he told me that sunshine isn't a name, which is why he named me Hinata!"

"Wait, where were you!" He grabbed her arms and forced her to look up at him.

"I was with Ichigo, silly." She smiled back up at him.

"Ichigo? Like a strawberry?"

She laughed and he smiled. "No, Ulquiorra, it means to protect. He promised me that he would protect me too." She giggled again. "And I told him that I would visit again."

"Visit again?"

"Yep! And you won't believe it! Everything was so colorful! There's green there and it's everywhere. It's such a pretty color, just like your eyes!"

"Green? You went to the world of the living!?"

"What's the world of the living?"

Ulquiorra sighed. "Let's go home, and you can tell me more about it. I'm just glad that you're safe."

"Ok!" she said with a bright smile, "but you'll have to catch me first!"

He smiled as he watched her race off into the distance. She was safe, and for now that was all that mattered. When they made it home, he would have to have a talk with her about the dangers of the world of the living. Even so, it seemed that she had made the trip safely and made a promise to return there at a future point. Shaking his head, he sped off in pursuit.

. . .

Starrk relaxed against a rock, hands behind his head, ignoring Lilynette's attempts to move him. He was still pondering on the odd conversation he had had with the young vasto lorde. He'd been alone for so long that the encounter had startled him and made him begin to wonder: were their other hollows powerful enough to withstand Lilynette's and his presence?

"Starrk, you idiot!" Lilynette hollered, kicking him. "Get off your lazy butt, and let's _do_ something!"

He waved her off. "Why bother?"

At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of movement. Shifting, he made out a small figure on a dune in the distance. It came to a sudden stop, turning to where he and Lilynette sat. It was a small girl arrancar with vivid orange hair, wearing a purple dress. A bright smile flashed across her face and she waved. Starrk couldn't help but smile in response.

Just as suddenly as she had appeared, she vanished, leaving him dazed. Certainly he had seen an arrancar child, but he hadn't sensed any spirit pressure from her. Had he really seen her? Or was it his imagination? With a small chuckle, he decided to forget about the incident for the time being. Perhaps he would see the girl again.

"What's so funny?" Lilynette demanded, attempting to kick him once again.

"Nothing," he said, blocking her. "You're right; let's move somewhere else. I'm bored."

. . .

"Ulqui, Ichigo needs me!" Hinata whined, tugging against his hand impatiently.

"Not until you promise to take care of yourself. And you must come back at the end of the day; I don't like it when you're away," Ulquiorra told her sternly.

Hinata rolled her eyes and giggled. "Silly, I can take care of myself! Besides, Ichigo said he would protect me."

"What if you run into a Shinigami?"

"If I run into one, I'll hide. Can I go now?"

Unable to come up with any other good arguments, Ulquiorra gave up with a sigh. "Just . . . be careful, please, Hinata." Despite his initial panic, he was grateful to the boy who had given his sunshine a proper name. It had taken some getting used to, but the name suited her perfectly.

"I'll be careful, Ulqui, I promise." She smiled and gave him a quick hug before stepping into the garganta. Her excitement rose as she rushed down the path to the human world. She could feel him; Ichigo was sad again, and he needed her.

She stepped onto the road outside a yellow structure, happy to be in such a colorful world again. Ichigo was inside the building, and there were others with him.

"Ichigo! You're going to be late!" a young girl's voice called out.

Hinata tilted her head to the side, listening to the commotion. With a shrug, she decided to go inside. There was a window open on the side of the building that she crawled though. Ichigo stood in the middle of the room, tugging a jacket on while speaking to two girls sitting at a table. Smiling, Hinata jumped down from the window sill and snuck up behind Ichigo.

"Dad, I'm leaving!" he hollered.

"Be safe!" another voice called from somewhere else inside the building.

Hinata followed Ichigo to the door, walking on her tiptoes the way she did when she was playing with Ulquiorra and wondering if he would notice her. He stopped at the door and turned back to the girls at the table. "Hey Karin! Yuzu! Make sure Dad gets you to school on time."

"We will!" one of them yelled back.

It was then that Ichigo looked down and noticed Hinata standing behind him. "What the . . .!" he gasped, backing into the door.

"I came back!" Hinata said proudly. "Did you miss me?"

Eyes wide, Ichigo didn't respond for a moment. "Where have you been!?"

"Who are you talking to, Ichigo? We've been here the whole time!" a voice called from the other room once more.

"Nobody," he yelled back, yanking the door open and grabbing Hinata's hand. "I'm leaving now!" As they walked outside, he turned back to Hinata and asked again, "where have you been?"

"Hmmm? I was with Ulquiorra, silly. Where do you think I've been?" she answered with a smile.

"I didn't think you were coming back. It's been three months!"

Hinata tilted her head to the side, pouting. "I told you I'd come back when you needed me. So I came back. I kept my promise." She looked back towards the house. "Who were those girls?"

"Those were my sisters, Karin and Yuzu. I'm their big brother, so it's my job to look after them. "

"Oh! Then . . . are you my big brother too?"

Ichigo looked down at her, frowning. "Ummm . . ." Ichigo didn't know how to answer that. She was an imaginary friend, right? "I guess you could call me that."

"Then Ulquiorra is my brother too," Hinata said with another smile. "I have two brothers!"

"I guess."

"Yep! Ulquiorra always takes care of me and now you will too." She skipped by his side as they made their way down the street. "By the way, where are we going, Ichigo? Are we going to play like we did last time?"

"I can't play today. I have school."

"What's school?"

"It's where you go to learn."

"What do you learn about?"

"Well . . ." He seemed hesitant. "You could come with me."

"I'd like that. Can we play when you're done with school?"

"I have to go to the dojo after school, but we can play after that."

"Dojo?" she asked, and then shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Is school fun?"

"You'll see," Ichigo told her with a smile.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Hinata spoke again. "Are you ok, Ichigo?"

"What?"

"You're sad about something."

"No, I'm fine."

Hinata smiled. "Alright. I trust you, Ichigo." Happy, she swung their hands and started jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk, entertaining herself until they made it to the school. When Ichigo stopped at the gate, she looked up at the building with wide eyes. "It's so big!"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. He squeezed her hand and sighed, preparing himself as they walked onto the school grounds.


	5. Chapter 4 Pranks at School

I do not own Bleach

...

Chapter 4 Pranks at School

Hinata sat across from Ichigo, swinging her legs over the edge of her chair as she watched the other students trickle in. She didn't like being inside the building; there wasn't very much color here except for the occasional picture on the wall. There were lots of windows though.

"I'm bored," she told Ichigo, standing on the desk chair so that she would be tall enough to look him in the eyes.

"Get down from there," he whispered. "What if someone sits on you?"

Hinata jumped down and squatted by his bag. She dug through it, looking for something to do while listening to the chatter of the other students. She didn't understand what most of them were talking about; some boys were talking about a new movie that had come out, some girls were talking about clothes they wanted to buy, and others were complaining about homework. She gave up digging through Ichigo's bag and flopped on the floor, looking around for something else to do when a couple of boys caught her attention; she had heard them say Ichigo's name.

Standing, she walked over to where the boys were sitting so she could hear better. They were pointing and laughing at his hair. Confused, she turned and looked back at where Ichigo sat; his arms were crossed on the desk and his head was down. She gathered a fistful of her own hair and compared it to his hair again. Why did the boys think the color of his hair was funny? She liked his hair.

She was distracted when she heard a girl call out to Ichigo. "Good morning, Ichigo," a girl with short black hair greeted him, taking the seat that Hinata had been sitting on earlier.

Ichigo looked up. "Good morning, Tatsuki," he responded. Then he began twisting in his seat, wildly looking around the classroom. He spotted Hinata and then sighed, visibly relaxing.

Puzzled, Hinata returned to Ichigo's side, taking his hand. "Are you okay?"

He spoke in barely a whisper back to her, looking over her shoulder at Tatsuki to make sure she didn't hear him. "I'm fine, but don't vanish on me like that!"

"Sorry." She stood beside him for a little bit when her attention was drawn back to the boys who had been laughing at Ichigo's hair. "Those boys were talking about you," she told him, pointing at the boys a couple rows over.

"I know," Ichigo said so that only she could hear him.

"They were laughing at your hair." She paused a moment, but before Ichigo replied she spoke again, "I like your hair because it's like mine!" She held hers up to his, smiling.

There was a look of gratitude that flashed in his eyes before he smiled back at her. "I like your hair too."

Hinata, with another smile, began walking around the room again. This time, she could feel Ichigo watching her. Suddenly, a bell rang and the kids in the room all ran to a seat and sat down. Hinata wandered back to Ichigo and asked him, "so, is this what learning is?"

Ichigo smiled at her. "No," he said softly, glancing over at Tatsuki to make sure she wasn't looking at them, "the teacher will come in in just a minute. Then we'll start learning."

At that moment, the class quieted down as a woman walked into the room, looking stern. It didn't take long before Hinata grew bored again. Learning wasn't fun; she didn't understand anything the teacher was talking about. Tugging on Ichigo's pant leg, she told him, "I'm going to go exploring. I'll come back in a little bit."

He nodded, and she skipped happily out of the classroom and wandered the hallways. All of the classrooms were the same; there were a lot of students who all dressed the same, and there was an adult at the front of the classroom. Hinata wandered around until she came across a classroom of children who didn't look much older than her.

She watched with interest for a little bit. When one of the little girls raised her hand, Hinata was surprised to recognize the voice of one of Ichigo's sisters. She walked the rest of the way into the room. She looked the little girl up and down. She could see a little of Ichigo in the brown haired girl. When the black haired girl that sat next to her spoke, she recognized her as Ichigo's other sister. There was an empty seat next to them, so she sat down.

She ended up spending the whole morning in their class. When the bell rang again and the teacher announced that it was now lunch time, she decided it was time to go find Ichigo again. She was excited to tell him that she had learned the alphabet, and her numbers; she would need to ask him about what a last name was though, and if she had one.

It wasn't too hard to find him. She simply followed the thread of spiritual power she had connected to him. He was still in his classroom, and the teacher was still talking in front of the class. She crawled over to his desk quietly, wanting to surprise him. She slowly pulled herself up so only her fingers were on the edge of his desk, and her eyes showed as she looked at him. She didn't have to wait long before he looked down to write something on the paper in front of him. He jumped back, hitting the window he was sitting by.

Hinata's smile grew wide as she jumped up, laughing at Ichigo. It was short lived though because the teacher yelled at Ichigo for disrupting her class. Ichigo apologized before sitting down at his desk once more. Once the teacher started teaching again, he sent a glare her way; she smiled apologetically back at him. She moved to the back of the room and watched for several minutes, thinking about what she had learned in her class when the bell finally rang and the students got up. She weaved her way back to Ichigo's side, grabbing his hand.

He was startled for a moment before he looked down and saw her smiling up at him. He smiled back down at her before reaching down and pulling out a small box and leading her out of the room, and out of the school. He walked a ways until he found a nice shaded spot in the grass and sat down with her.

"What are we doing now?" She asked, bouncing and looking around at all the green.

"It's lunch time." He responded, and, already guessing what she was going to ask next, answered, "Lunch time is when you eat food in the middle of the day." Her next question surprised him.

"What's food?"

His mouth was open for a few seconds before opened the box and showed her what was inside. "Mine is pretty simple, but this is rice, and these are side dishes."

She looked down at the box. "Can I try some?"

"Sure."

He held it out to her and she reached in and grabbed a little bit of one of the side dishes, popping it into her month. She quickly spat it out; it burned her mouth. "Its gross!" She looked up to see Ichigo laughing and rolling in the grass. "What's so funny?"

It took him a moment to get his laughter in check before he could reply. "You need to eat it with some rice, Hinata!" He pulled out a strange object and carefully scooped some rice and some of the gross stuff on to it before handing her the object. "It will taste better this time," he said as he looked at her doubtful face.

She slowly put it in her mouth and was surprised to find that it truly did taste better this way. She smiled and handed the object back to Ichigo. "It was yummy this time."

He gave a smile and began to eat. As Ichigo ate, Hinata told him that she had gone to his sisters' class and all that she had learned. "Ichigo what is a last name?"

He looked up from his food. "It's your family name."

"Do I have one?"

He stopped and seemed to think for a bit. "Well, you are my imaginary friend, so I guess yours is the same as mine: Kurosaki. So your full name is Hinata Kurosaki."

"Hinata Kurosaki!" She smiled and jumped at Ichigo, hugging him. "Thank you so much!"

Her joy was short lived though when she heard someone calling "Strawberry" from across the yard. She saw Ichigo tense up from the call, looking towards the group that was approaching them. Among them were the boys who had said his hair was funny from earlier. "What's wrong?"

He gently placed her on her own feet as he stood up, brushing off his pants. He looked at the largest boy Hinata had ever seen who was standing in front of the group.

"What do you want, Aki?" Ichigo asked of the bigger boy.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Strawberry."

"I told you, my name is Ichigo; it means 'to protect', _not_ 'strawberry.'"

The bigger boy stepped forward and grabbed Ichigo by the front of his shirt, pulling him forward. "You are what I say you are," the boy spat in Ichigo's face.

Hinata was angry. She felt her spiritual pressure rise as she watched the big boy pick on her Ichigo. She ran forward and kicked the big boy in the shin; he was pushed back a couple of inches. Ichigo was thrown off balance by the sudden change in the bully's stance. As he fell forward, he saw that what had pushed him back was Hinata. His eyes widened as the little girl wound her leg back for another kick.

Seeing what was about to happen, he pushed the bigger boy away from him, causing him to lose his grip on Ichigo. Ichigo fell on his bottom as Aki received another swift kick to the shin.

Aki gave a yelp of pain as he fell. He sat there for several moments as the whole group stared, stunned by what had just happened. "What. . . what are you waiting for? Get him! He kicked me!"

By this point, Hinata was standing beside Ichigo, glaring at the other boys. Their eyes where still full of surprise, but hardened in determination as they took steps towards them.

Thankfully, at that moment the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The boys stopped and look up at the school before turning around, helping Aki back up. "It's okay, Aki; we can just get him tomorrow."

Hinata, after seeing that they were leaving, stuck her tongue out at them. Turning back to Ichigo, she smiled proudly at him. He stared at her for a while before speaking. "Hinata, you can't do things like that!"

"Can't do what?" She asked quizzically.

He bowed and shook his head while his shoulders bounced in silent laughter. "Hinata . . . you need to let me fight my own battles."

"Why?"

He stopped to think for a moment before replying, "if I don't win my own battles then how will I be able to protect you and those that I care about?"

She looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Also, you can't physically harm people," he added.

She thought about this for a bit before nodding to this as well.

With that, they walked back to his class. After several minutes, she told him she was going to go exploring again and he nodded. This time though, as she walked the halls, she was looking for people. Ichigo had said that she couldn't hurt them physically. So she couldn't kick them, but what about other things?

She quickly found one of the boys. She sat by his desk for a long time, staring at him. What could she do to him? He was being mean to Ichigo, and she didn't like that. Her eyes dropped down to his pencil, and, out of frustration, she pushed it off his desk. He startled when he noticed it had fallen; he reached down and picked it up.

She giggled in delight. As soon as he put it down, she pushed it off again. This continued for several minutes with the boy getting increasingly more frustrated. He looked around the room as if trying to figure out why his pencil kept falling off his desk. This time, as he carefully put it down, he watched it like a hawk; Hinata just giggled and watched him. As soon as he grew bored and stopped watching the pencil, she pushed it off again. This time, the boy cried out it frustration. The teacher yelled at him and told him to leave the room until he could get ahold of himself.

With this, she started her revenge. She found all the bullies and did similar things to each of them. In one class, she kept turning the book page; in another, she moved his eraser around the desk. At one point, she just rolled the pencil back and forth on the boy's desk. This is how the story of how Karakura Elementy was haunted was begun.

When she finally made it back to Ichigo's class, after having found all the other bullies, she began doing the same things to the remaining boys. She saw Ichigo looking at her in surprise at first, then noticed that he was struggling not to laugh and was smiling. She could see him watching her out of the corner of his eye for the remainder of class, shaking with silent laughter every now and then.

When school finally ended, Tatsuki looked over at Ichigo. She had noticed that he kept casting glances across the room for the last hour and was constantly smiling; he almost seemed to be holding back laughter as well. "What's so funny, Ichigo?"

He looked up at her, still smiling. "Nothing, Tatsuki. I'm just having a great day."

She looked at him doubtfully. "Well, whatever. Do you want to walk to the dojo together?" She watched as he almost seemed to look over her shoulder at someone, but when she looked back, she didn't see anyone looking their way.

"I have a few things to finish up, so you can go on without me. I'll see you there."

She gave a shrug before looking around the room one last time to see what had made him smile before leaving.

Once everyone was out of the classroom, Ichigo stood up patting Hinata on the head, looking down at her and laughing. "You are one determined girl, Hinata."

She smiled up at him grabbing hold of his hand. Perhaps it was his imagination, but she seemed distracted for a brief moment.

"Well, let's go to the dojo then, shall we?"

"Yep!"

He walked while she skipped beside him, looking around at everything. They had been walking for a few minutes before he finally spoke again. "Thanks, Hinata. You brightened my day."

"Your welcome, Ichigo." She smiled, but it wasn't her usual smile. She seemed distracted again, like she was listening for something.

They had almost reached the dojo when he noticed that something was wrong. Looking down he saw that she wasn't skipping anymore and seemed to barely be moving forward. "Are you okay?"

She slowly looked up at him, stumbling while clinging to his hand. "I'm really tired; I don't think I can go with you to the dojo today, Ichigo."

She seemed saddened by this, so he gave her hand a squeeze. "That's okay, you've been with me all day. Do you need to go back to Ulquiorra now?"

She gave a small nod before letting go of his hand. "I'll see you later, Ichigo."

He waved. "Don't take so long to come back next time."

She smiled. "I'll be back when you need me." With a wave of her arm she took a step away from him and vanished.


	6. Chapter 5 Nikko Kagayaki

Chapter 5 Nikko Kagayaki

By the time Hinata had made it to the temple, she found that she could barely take another step forward. Her final step outside the garganta led to her crashing to the ground. She tilted her head to the side when she heard a shout of surprise. She watched as Ulquiorra ran over to her, picking her up.

"What's wrong? Did he hurt you!?" His eyes held a dangerous glint.

"No, silly," she raised her small hand to his face. "I'm just tired. Can we go home?"

He looked down at her as if he wasn't sure, but she seemed to be on the verge of collapse. "Hold tight; we will be home in a minute."

With that, her eyes closed, and she was lost to the world of sleep.

…

She opened her eyes and was surprised to find that she wasn't in Hueco Mundo anymore. Instead, she found herself in a large open place with gentle hills full of green grass one way, and a forest on her other side. The sun was high in the sky, making everything so much brighter. With flowers all around, she had never seen a more beautiful place. She spun around in circles, laughing as she looked around. She quickly ran off into the forest, picking flowers and throwing them in the air as she ran. It felt like she had always belonged here.

As she played, she found a tree that seemed to touch the sky. She quickly climbed up, stopping every once and a while to look down and laugh at how high she was. When she reached the top, she looked out over the world before her. It was just as beautiful up here, if not more, than down below. She settled into the branch and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Suddenly, she felt the branch she was on shake. Her eyes flew open at the shock. She jumped up when she saw a girl a little older then her in a red dress and bright hair that seemed to shine like the sun looking down at her. Unfortunately, when she leapt to her feet, she didn't land right and fell. Hinata heard herself scream. The girl on the branch looked down at her with a confused look before vanishing. The next moment, Hinata's descent stopped, and she found herself on the ground in the girl's arms.

The older girl gently placed Hinata on the ground before squatting next to her, looking her in the eyes with a curious look in her eyes.

Hinata took the next few seconds to calm her heart. This must be why Ulquiorra always told her not to climb the trees in the Minos forest. When her breathing had finally slowed, she looked back up at the girl who was now sitting on the ground, making a circlet of flowers. The girl was beautiful, with large green eyes even brighter than Ulquiorra's; her bright red dress seemed to shine and dance every time she moved, and her sunshine hair was almost too bright to even look at.

"Tada!" The girl jumped to her feet. She throw the circle of flowers onto Hinata's head, where they sat for only a second before the circlet, which was a little too big, began to fall around her neck. "Whoops! Looks like I made it too big." She giggled.

Hinata smiled, "I like it!" She paused for a moment before continuing, "Thank you for catching me."

"No problem! Why did you jump off the tree anyways?"

"I didn't jump, I fell!" Hinata shyly looked at her feet. "You scared me."

The older girl leaned sideways to see Hinata's face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just so excited to finally meet you in the flesh."

They stood for a moment before Hinata stood up straight and held out her hand. "My name is Hinata Kurosaki! What's yours?"

The other girl smiled back and took Hinata's hand. "Nice to officially meet you Hinata Kurosaki, and you know my name already, silly."

Hinata looked puzzled, "How can I know you? I just met you?"

The bigger girl frowned. "You forgot my name?"

"I didn't forget; you never told me. What is your name?"

The older girl looked down at Hinata for a long while before smiling. "Then I guess you will just have to catch me before I tell you!" With that she vanished in a cloud of leaves.

Hinata stood there for another moment before laughing and taking off after the girl.

It was like they were in a separate world. Laughter rang throughout the forest and the hills covered in grass. Hinata had never had so much fun. The older girl was faster than she was and always just out of reach. Hinata gave a small smile as an idea came to mind. She suddenly turned, running at an angle to the older girl. It wasn't long before the older girl noticed that Hinata wasn't right behind her and turned to see why she had stopped chasing. She closely watched as the girl began to draw closer. When she was only a few feet behind Hinata, Hinata suddenly turned and jumped sideways, grabbing the girl around the waist as she ran into her. They flew from the impact, breaking several trees until they landed in a heap.

Hinata sat up, laughing as she looked down at the flustered girl below her. She stopped when she heard a door open and footsteps running over. She saw a beautiful woman with long, wavy brown hair and warm brown eyes running towards them from a small yellow house with a bright red roof.

The women yelled out, "Are you okay?"

The older girl smiled and replied, "We are okay Oka-san .We were just playing."

Hinata smiled again as she got off the girl. "I caught you, so you have to tell me your name!"

The girl smiled. "I guess you did catch me. My name is Nikko, Nikko Kagayaki!"

With that, Hinata said the name out loud, testing in on her lips. She found that it easily flowed off her tongue, almost like she had known her name all this time. When the name left her lips, she was surprised to see Nikko glow brighter.

"Why did you glow, Nikko?" She was surprised that this time she said it she didn't glow.

"Because you said my name, silly."

There was a soft cough that drew her eyes back to the woman. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hinata." She held out her hand towards Hinata.

Hinata looked at the women once more and saw that she was truly beautiful and warm. Without a second thought, she jumped towards the woman, hugging her legs. It seemed to take her off guard, but she bent down and returned the hug with such a strong passion that one would almost think it had been a long time since they had last met. She took a deep breath and found that the woman smelled familiar, but Hinata couldn't tell why.

Hinata looked up at the woman's face, smiling in response to her smile. "What's your name? Are you Nikko's mom?"

"My name is Masaki Kurosaki. Yes, I am Nikko's mother, in a way," the woman answered.

Hinata thought that her voice was familiar too. "I wish I had a mother," Hinata whispered. Then she smiled and grabbed the woman's hand. "Are you my mother? My last name is Kurosaki too!"

Masaki smiled and pulled Hinata up into her arms. "If that is what you want, then yes. I will be your mother."

Hinata laughed and hugged Masaki. "Now I have two brothers, a mom, and a sister!" She looked over at Nikko. "Right? You're my sister, Nikko?"

"Yes," Nikko said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side then, listening. "It's time for you to go back, Hinata. Ulquiorra needs you."

Hinata looked around with wide eyes. "I don't want to go back yet! It's so pretty here!"

Masaki smiled. "You can come visit us anytime you want, Hinata. We'll always be here, waiting for when you need us. This is your inner world, a special place just for us. When you need us, we'll be ready." She set Hinata back on her feet. "Go now, and return to your brother. He's worried about you."

Nikko hugged her. "If you need me, call out my name. You know who I am now."

"You're my sword, aren't you?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Nikko said with a smile. "All you have to do is say my name, and I'll help you."

Hinata could feel Ulquiorra now; he _was_ worried about her. She turned to smile at Masaki one last time, and then opened her eyes.

. . .

Ulquiorra had come back from his hunt to find that Hinata was still asleep, her sword clutched in her hands the same way as when he had first found her. The only difference was that her sword was now glowing faintly. It had been a long time since Hinata had slept this soundly, and it worried him slightly. Not long after he thought this, she began to stir.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," Hinata answered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She smiled. "I made some more friends!"

Ulquiorra smiled back. "Let's go for a walk, and you can tell me all about it."

Hinata bounced to her feet, brimming with energy once more. She couldn't wait to tell Ulquiorra all about the things she had learned at school, about the bullies, and about meeting Nikko and Masaki. Carrying her sword at her side in one hand, she took Ulquiorra's other hand and began to tell him about her day, walking out onto the dunes of Hueco Mundo.


	7. Chapter 6 A Trip to the Dojo

I do not own Bleach

. . .

Chapter 6 A Trip to the Dojo

Hinata looked up at Ichigo's school. She took a deep breath smelling the fresh air of the world of the living. She wanted to stay outside and play, but Ichigo was inside the school building. She smiled and skipped through the doors, humming to herself as she peered into the classrooms. Every now and then, an activity would catch her eye and she'd slip inside to see what the class was doing. After a few minutes, she would then move on and continue skipping down the hallway.

As she neared Ichigo's classroom, she peered into the classrooms where she'd taunted the bullies last time. She would enter their classrooms and nudge their pencils or blow on the loose pages of their books, giggling when they'd straighten in their seats, eyes wide. One of the boys had yelped when she'd knocked his pencil off of his desk, causing the teacher to yell at him. Happy, she continued on to Ichigo's classroom.

When she found him, he was leaning forward with his elbows on the desk, staring at the board. She glanced at it, listening as the teacher reviewed complex multiplication tables. She listened for a moment, remembering the numbers she had learned from yesterday. She had encountered another classroom earlier where the students were learning simple times tables, like two times two and so forth. After a few minutes, she was able to keep up with the other students' responses, and lost interest again. Instead, she snuck across the room towards Ichigo's desk.

She curled her fingers around the edge of the desk and then slowly raised her head over the edge as well. "Peek-a-boo!" she teased, giggling when Ichigo leapt back, toppling his chair backwards.

"Kurosaki! Pay attention!" the teacher yelled, glaring in their direction.

"Yes, sorry," Ichigo said, pulling his chair back upright. "Don't do that," he whispered to Hinata.

"But it's funny!" she said, smiling brightly.

His expression softened slightly. "Not in class, I'll get in trouble."

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry, Ichigo."

He smiled and then turned his attention back to the board. Hinata went to look out the window beside Ichigo's desk. Down below, she spotted a hollow searching the school grounds. She looked back at Ichigo, wondering if she should disturb him again, then back down at the hollow. While Ichigo was inside, he wasn't in any danger. However, Hinata didn't like the idea of waiting until Ichigo left to destroy it. She looked up at the open window, trying to judge the distance to the ground two stories below. It wasn't a difficult jump.

Smiling, she tugged on Ichigo's pant-leg. "I'm going to go hunt monsters," she told him, pointing out the window. "I'll come back when I'm done."

Ichigo nodded, and then watched as she climbed onto the windows ledge and jumped. It crossed his mind that they were two stories up, but he reminded himself that she was imaginary, so she'd be fine. Meanwhile, Hinata summoned her sword as she fell towards the hollow. It didn't even have time to look up before she sliced it clean in two. Rather than tumbling through the hollow the way she had last time, Hinata did a perfect flip, landing on the balls of her feet.

"Thank you, Nikko," she whispered to her sword, which glowed faintly in response. She decided to search the yard until school was over. Ichigo wouldn't be any fun while he was in the classroom. When she couldn't find any other hollows, she wandered over to the playground and entertained herself on the swings, seeing how high she could go before jumping to the ground. When the bell finally rang, she skipped back to Ichigo's class, humming again.

When she got to the doorway, she discovered the black-haired girl talking to Ichigo again as he packed up his bag. She slowly walked closer, listening.

"I'm not going to go easy on you today, Ichigo," Tatsuki told him, punching his shoulder lightly.

Ichigo looked up, spotting Hinata as he answered Tatsuki. "You never do. Just wait; one of these days, you'll be the one asking me to go easy on you."

Tatsuki laughed. "That will be the day that pigs fly. I'm the best in the dojo. See you there!"

"See ya," Ichigo said, watching her leave, and then smiled at Hinata. "How was monster hunting?"

"I only got one," Hinata told him, pouting. "I guess they're all scared of me!"

Ichigo laughed. "Yes, you're terrifying, Hinata," he teased, ruffling her hair.

"What are we doing today?" she asked excitedly. "Can we play?"

"I'm going to the dojo now. It's where I learn to fight and protect others."

"Can I learn to protect people there too?"

"Yeah, but we have to go now or we'll be late," Ichigo said as he grabbed his bag off the ground throwing it over his shoulder, "and the instructor will yell at me."

Hinata smiled and took Ichigo's hand as they left the school. The dojo wasn't very far away. Ichigo made her wait on a bench while he went to change into his gear. She looked around at the other students who were stretching and spotted Tatsuki in the far corner of the room. There were mats all over the floor that looked soft and made Hinata want to go roll around on them, or climb on the ones stacked against the wall.

Ichigo came back before she could test the mats out, however, and led her onto the mats to stretch. He showed her how to do all the stretches, smiling when she did the poses perfectly. He knew she was more flexible than he was, but she still smiled brightly when he whispered instructions as they moved into a new stretch.

Soon they were called into their separate classes. Hinata stood next to Ichigo, imitating his posture as they began the beginning exercises. Tatsuki stood on his other side, moving with perfect form as usual. Hinata mostly watched Ichigo, but would look over at Tatsuki on occasion. After they finished their exercises, they broke up into pairs to practice. Tatsuki was paired up with another girl while Ichigo was paired up with a boy that was just a little bit bigger than he was. Backing out of his way, Hinata watched Ichigo spar with wide-eyed awe.

As she watched the other couples spar, Hinata decided that she wanted to test out the moves too. She found a boy returning from the drinking fountain and went to try one of the new kicks she had learned on him. It was a side-swipe that made her crouch low and extend her leg out as she spun. She caught the boy from the front, causing him to tumble forward with a loud cry. The other groups stopped and turned to stare at the boy.

"Are you alright?"

"What happened?"

"Did you trip?"

The boy shook his head as he regained his feet, obviously confused. "I guess I tripped," he said looking around, but didn't see anyone near him.

Hinata turned to beam at Ichigo, but he had his hand over his face. His shoulders were shaking. Hinata went to him to see what was wrong. She could see that he was trying not to smile as he scolded her: "You can't do that in here. They can't see you. It's not fair to attack an opponent when they can't see you."

"I just wanted to practice, just like you!"

"That's fine, but don't do it in here. Watch, and then you can practice on me later."

"Ok," she said, hugging his legs and then finding a spot to sit and watch him.

After a few more rounds with their current partners, Ichigo's class was told to switch partners. Hinata watched as Tatsuki took her stance in front of Ichigo. Hinata watched, fascinated as Ichigo dodged her first couple of strikes and blocked a few others. Then, in the blink of an eye, Tatsuki had Ichigo pinned to the ground. Hinata frowned. Why had Ichigo let her beat him?

"Again," the instructor called.

Ichigo rolled back to his feet and took up another stance. Hinata watched as three more rounds progressed, each of them ending with Ichigo on his back and Tatsuki standing over him, offering a hand. The more she watched, the more she disliked how Tatsuki kept beating him. When they took a break, Hinata went to Ichigo and tapped on his shoulder.

"Ichigo, why does that girl keep beating you up?" she asked.

"Who, Tatsuki?" Ichigo said quietly, glancing over at where she was sitting. "She's not beating me up. I'm just not as good as she is yet. One day, though, I'll be able to beat her."

"Oh," Hinata said, looking at the girl again. "Why is she better than you are?"

Ichigo shrugged. "She just is."

"I don't like it."

Ichigo smiled. "Its okay, Hinata. One day I'll be strong enough to protect everybody. Until then, I'm going to lose to Tatsuki because that's the only way I'll get stronger."

"Ok," Hinata said, smiling.

"Who are you talking to, Ichigo," Tatsuki asked, coming up behind Hinata.

Hinata looked up at her, wondering if she'd be able to take Tatsuki on, but Ichigo had said not to practice on anybody but him. Instead, she circled around the girl and then circled around Ichigo and circled her arms around his neck. He had been sitting on the floor, and looked up at Tatsuki now as his face turned red and he answered, "I wasn't talking to anybody."

"Yes, you were," Tatsuki said.

Ichigo glared at her. "I was not. I was talking to myself."

"Uh-huh. Sure you were. Ready to go again?" She offered Ichigo a hand.

Hinata watched the rest of their lesson. Ichigo sparred with a couple other kids, winning some of his matches and losing others. By the end, Hinata had learned a lot of new moves. At one point during one of his matches, she had walked around the dojo and watched some of the older students. She didn't attack anyone else, but she found a corner of the mat that nobody was sparring on and practiced some of the moves she saw the older students using. Satisfied that she could copy them, she returned to watching Ichigo.

After he said goodbye to Tatsuki, Ichigo joined Hinata and walked outside with her.

"What now?" Hinata asked, bouncing happily.

"I have to go home and do my homework. You can walk home with me though." He held his hand out to her, expecting her to grab it like she normally did.

Instead, Hinata made sure nobody was around before grabbing his hand and flipping him over like how she had seen the older students do. There was a patch of grass next to the sidewalk because they were near the park. Ichigo looked up at her in surprise from where he now lay in the grass. Hinata bent over him with a big smile.

"Did I do it right?" she asked, proud of herself.

"Yes," he said, returning her smile. "Warn me next time, though. You're lucky there was grass here this time."

She laughed. "I wouldn't hurt you, silly. You said I could practice on you."

"I did," Ichigo agreed, "but tell me ahead of time that you want to practice." He rolled to his feet and offered his hand to her again. "Let's go home."

"Okay," she said, taking his hand. As they walked, she told him more stories about playing games with Ulquiorra and about the new things she had learned while she walked around the classrooms at school. He smiled and listened to her babble until they stood outside his house. He was amazed by how much energy she had after all her adventures today. Distracted, he almost missed her question. "How long was I gone this time, Ichigo?"

"What?" he asked, startled. "Oh, you were only gone for a month this time. Why?"

"I like coming to see you," she said, hugging his knees. "I don't want you to be sad."

Ichigo bent to pat her head. "I'm not sad when you're with me, Hinata."

"I know," she laughed. "That's why I come to see you! I want to take all your sadness away so you can be happy all the time."

"So why don't you stay this time?" Ichigo asked.

Hinata looked up at him, thinking for a moment. "Ulquiorra would miss me too much if I stayed here. He needs me too. He doesn't like it if I'm away for too long."

Ichigo smiled. "You must love your brother a lot."

"Yes! I love Ulqui, and he loves me too!" She cocked her head to the side, listening. "I have to go now. I'll come back soon, ok?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, watching as she backed away waving. "Come back soon"

Then she was gone.


	8. Chapter 7 Two Years

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 7 Two Years

Ulquiorra looked down at Hinata as she slept peacefully. It had been two years since he had found her on the sand, sleeping the same way she was now. Ever sense nine months ago, she had started sleeping with her sword and she appeared to sleep deeper and better this way as well. She had explained to him about how she had what was called an inner world, and within it there were people, one of which was her sword.

He had been trying for months to be able to do what she did and he had finally been able to recently. It surprised him but when he had woken up he had found that most of his mask was gone and that he had changed appearances as well. He looked more human than he did before. He had become stronger and now had a sword of his own as well; he always wore it. He also found that with his evolvance into an arrancar, he no longer needed to eat hollows. His hunger was gone, the hunger that had eaten at him for well over a hundred years.

He found himself give a smile as she shifted positions. She would be waking up soon. She had grown so much taller; she was now over four feet tall and was nearing his shoulder in height. She had gone to the human world ten times this last year. He always worried about her, but she had always come back safe. She could take care of herself, he would tell himself. Still, if he were to lose her, he knew that he would die another death. The emptiness that was inside him would consume him.

He was looking back up at the moon when she sat up rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Hinata," Ulquiorra said without looking down.

"Morning, Ulquiorra!" She jumped on his back and then they sat and watched the moon for several moments.

"Are you going to visit the boy today?"

She sat and concentrated for a moment before nodding and placing her head on top of his. "Yep! He isn't doing well today and seems sadder then he normally does."

He gave an inaudible sigh. She was leaving again. "Be careful, and be back before dark."

She gave one last hug around his neck, "I will be!" and then she was gone.

…

Hinata found Ichigo sitting on his front steps looking at the ground when she arrived. She sat beside him and grabbed his hand. She felt that right now, he just needed her there.

He glanced up at her and gave a small smile before looking down at the ground again.

Hinata could hear his family moving around inside like they were preparing for something. She loved listening to his family when she came. They seemed so nice and warm. When the sounds inside changed, it seemed to her that they were about to leave. It was at this time that Ichigo finally looked up.

"Hinata?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Me and my family are going to visit my mom's grave, and I was wondering if I could have some alone time with them before I spend time with you?"

Hinata could tell that he felt bad about this, but she also knew that he was taking a big step in wanting to face the hurt that he had inside, so she nodded and stood up.

"Be safe." She waved at him as she walked away. She was sad that he didn't want her to come, but she felt that he needed to do this alone. So she left him alone. She wandered Kaurakura looking for things to do when she felt the appearance of a hollow nearby. Smiling she raced towards it.

This last year, she had taken to killing hollows with the karate skills she had been learning with Ichigo, but this morning she had learned from Nikko a way to hide her sword and she wanted to see if it worked.

The closer she drew she could feel that this one was stronger than the others she had met in the world of the living so far. She rounded the corner to see it standing in the middle of the street; it appeared to be sniffing the air, looking for its next meal. It let out a roar as it found it. She found herself smiling. Reaching back, she pulled her hair pin out. Focusing her spiritual pressure into the small pin, she watched in satisfaction as it grew to the length of a small knife. "Thanks, Nikko," she whispered. With the growth of her sword the hollow seemed to feel her spiritual energy increase and had turned around to face her. It almost seemed to be smiling, letting out a final roar as it charged towards her.

Jumping into the air, she flipped over its head, holding her sword out. She landed behind it laughing, throwing both of her hands in the air. "Tada!" She only held her pose until the hollow had completely dissolved behind her. Once it was gone, she focused her spiritual pressure to once again shrink the knife into a hair pin. She then pulled her hair back, pushing the pin into place. She twirled a couple times to make sure that it didn't come out. Once she was positive it would stay, she stopped. "Sigh, now what am I supposed to do until Ichigo comes back?" She was about to sit down when shafts of yellow light came flying towards her. They slammed into her waist, holding her arms to her sides.

Startled, she looked down. "Wow! It's just like a skirt!" She pulled her hands up in excitement. She swayed for a little and watched the yellow lights sway with her. "It's so pretty!" When she tried to move though, she saw that they started to crack, and after only a few steps they completely shattered. "Noooo!" She tried to grab the pieces of yellow light as they slowly vanished between her hands.

…

A shady individual on a nearby roof top felt his mouth fall open from behind his fan. How could this happen?

He had noticed for about a year that hollows seemed to be going missing from around Ichigo Kurikasi. It had him concerned, and he had been trying to figure it out but he always got there after the hollow had been disposed of. Today, when he had felt a strong hollow arrive, he had hurried to the scene in time to watch a small girl jump over the hollow and had watched in surprise as it vanished as well as her theatrics afterwards.

Quietly he said, "Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro." He watched as the six rods flew towards the girl, pinning her. He was surprised when she easily pulled her arms out with no problem then proceeded to play with them before they broke because they couldn't hold her. He looked closer at the girl and took a step back; she had a mask! It was barely larger than a quarter but he could see the small tell tell signs of it being a mask. He briefly looked away to where he could sense the Kuriokaki boy's spiritual pressure. He seemed to be safe for now. He turned around when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He jumped back several feet when he saw the arrancar girl holding onto his sleeve. Her grip was so tight that he pulled her along with him.

"Oh, you can see me Mister!" She declared happily.

He quickly pulled himself back together. "Why, of course I can see you little arrancar."

Her eyes got big as she started jumping up and down, "You even know what I am! Mister, what are you?"

He didn't let his surprise show in his eyes as he fanned himself, "Why I'm nothing more than a local candy shop owner."

"Are you the one who gave me the yellow lights?"

"Yes, I did."

"Can you give it to me again?"

"Ah…" She wanted it again? She was unlike any arrancar he had ever heard about; she was completely different than any hollow he had ever seen. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was just a normal human girl. "You want me to give it to you again?'

"Yeah! I really loved the skirt." Her eyes seemed to be sparkling as she spoke.

"Okay. _Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six_! Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro!"

Her face lit up as the lights flew towards her again. This time, she carefully pulled her arms out so as not to hurt the lights, then carefully swayed and watched them swing. "Thanks Mister! These ones are much better than the last ones you gave me."

"You're welcome."

"I should probably return the favor."

He could see what she was going to do but didn't have a chance to run before she recited the spell and he found himself trapped in Bakudo 61.

"It's pretty, isn't it Mister!?"

As much as he tried, he couldn't break out of it. He would say it was even stronger than his own. "Yes, it is little arrancar." He worked hard to maintain his calm as he tried to figure out how to get out. This must have been her plan from the beginning: to trap him, then kill him.

She giggled and looked up at him. "My name's Hinata, mister, what's yours?"

"Kisuke Urahara. Hinata, can you let me go?" She looked up at him confused. "You trapped me."

"I didn't trap you," she tilted her head.

She didn't understand what he was saying. He thought about it a moment before replying again. "I can't move."

She laughed, "Of course you can, silly." She gave a twirl and the Kido rods bounced around her. "I'll show you." She reached out to grab one of his rods and it shattered in her grip. "Oh no! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to brake it! I can make you another one."

She began the chant to cast another one, but Urahara was able to stop her. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. It doesn't look as good on me as it did on you!"

She stopped and smiled back up at him. Suddenly, she turned her head off to the side. Urahara looked the same way but didn't see anything. "Looks like it is time for me to go, Kisuke! My brother, Ichigo, is looking for me! I'll see you soon!" She gave him a big hug, which shattered the remaining light rods, before vanishing.

Urahara fell to the ground. He felt lost for a moment. Nothing like this had ever happened before. He felt sure that she wasn't harmful though, at least not right now. He would have to keep a close eye on her.

…

Hinata quickly found Ichigo. She jumped on his back causing him to nearly fall over.

"I'm back, Ichigo!"

He turned around and smiled at her. "Welcome back, Hinata."

They spent the rest of the day together just playing around. He had told her he was thankful for the alone time and that it had really helped him to know that she would be there waiting for him when he came back. As the day had progressed, Ichigo had started to tell her about his family. He didn't talk about them often, so she listened with open interest.

When he got to explaining what extended family was, she stopped him.

"Ichigo, what's an Uncle?"

"It's a man who is either your dad's or mom's brother."

Hinata thought about how Kisuke had a similar feel to how Ichigo's dad did; they must be brothers then.

"They also like to spoil their nieces and nephews, maybe giving them gifts and teaching them things."

"Ichigo, I think I have an Uncle!"

He looked a little surprised by this. "Who is your uncle?"

"I met him when you were with your family earlier. He taught me to do this." With that, she stood up and said " _Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six_! Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro!"

Ichigo jumped back when he saw yellow lights appear around her waist. "Isn't it pretty, Ichigo?"

He reached out to touch it and felt a faint shock. "It is very pretty, Hinata," he said with slight awe in his voice. She'd distracted him with her questions, but now he was reminded as she spun that he had a gift for her too. "Actually . . ." he said, "I have something to give you too. I've decided today's your birthday."

"What's a birthday?" Hinata asked, eyes wide.

"It's a day you celebrate once a year and you get presents. Come with me and I'll give you your present."

"Ok!" She bounced to her feet and took his hand, skipping alongside him as he took her back to his house. He ran inside, telling her to wait just a minute, and then came back out holding an odd looking lump in his hands.

Ichigo had wrapped it himself and he was proud of it even if it wasn't pretty. He was so excited to give it to her. When he put it in her hands, she turned it over, squeezing it just like the way Karin and Yuzu did when they got presents.

"Open it," he encouraged her.

She tugged at the purple wrapping paper and then ripped it open. A white dress unfolded in her hands with purple flours sewn around the waist. "Wow! It's so pretty! Can I put it on now?!"

"Hold on," he said, "not out here! Let's go up to my room, and you can change there."

"Stop running through the house!" Yuzu yelled at Ichigo from the other room as he brought Hinata inside.

"Sorry!" he called back, pulling Hinata's hand as he started up the stairs. She just smiled, her new dress held close to her chest, as they made their way to his room. He let her in and then closed the door quietly behind him to give her privacy. Within a minute, a soft knock let him know she was done. He opened the door and watched her spin.

"I love it!" she said, giving him one of her bone crushing hugs. "Thank you, Ichigo!"

"You're welcome, Hinata. Happy birthday."

…

Urarhara had finally gotten home after observing the arrancar girl and Ichigo all day. She seemed innocent enough, but he couldn't let his guard down.

He jumped to his feet when he heard Tessai give a shout in surprise. He saw a blur before he was blown into the wall with Hinata on top of him, giving him a bone crushing hug. "Uncle Kisuke!" she yelled.

He was able to give Tessai, who was looking around the door, a small smile before he blacked out. A moment later, he came to and blinked up at his attacker. A strand of her long orange hair had come loose from her pin and was now tickling his face. He sat up, rubbing his nose so as not to sneeze and shifted her into his lap. "You found me!" he said, surprised.

"Yup!" She smiled and hopped off of his lap. "I wanted to see where Uncle Kisuke lived so I could come back and visit!"

Kisuke shook his head, smiling. She was an arrancar; her very existence should be impossible. He had come to the conclusion that she was different from anything he had ever met before. He was determined to continue watching her.

"Who is he? Is he my uncle too?" Hinata was looking up at Tessai with excitement on her face.

"Ummm . . ." Tessai said, looking to Kisuke. He had noticed the portion of mask on the side of her head too.

"Yes," Kisuke told her, getting to his feet and brushing the dust off his clothes. "He's your uncle, Tessai."

"Yay!" Hinata clapped, then ran to hug Tessai too. "I have a big family now!"

Kisuke smiled, thinking again that she could pass for a normal human child if not for her partial mask and extraordinary abilities. She was spinning in circles around the room now, having recreated the Kido he had taught her. Tessai gave Kisuke another questioning look, but he could only shrug and say, "I'll explain later."

Hinata stopped abruptly, the Kido shattering. She giggled and ran to Kisuke, hugging him again. "I have to go now. I'll come visit soon though!"

"Sure, kid," Kisuke said, patting the top of her head, then watched as she ran off and vanished into the street.


	9. Chapter 8 A Series of Short Encounters

I do not own Bleach

This chapter is a little different in the fact that it takes place over the space of four years and is the important encounters that Hinata has along the way.

Chapter 8 A Series of Short Encounters

Hinata crept quietly behind Ulquiorra. He had told her to stay put while he went out patrolling, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. It was fun hiding from him, and she wanted to see how long it would take for him to notice that she was following him. Ulquiorra, Nikko, and Masaki had all been teaching her how to hide her spirit pressure, so every now and then she would let some of her spirit pressure leak so that she would seem to be a lowly hollow.

She watched as Ulquiorra crested a sand dune just a short distance ahead of her and decided to have some fun before catching up to him. Cresting the dune she was on, she jumped and turned so that she could surf down the other side of the dune. She misjudged her landing though, and fell forward, rolling in a tumble down to the foot of the sand dune towards a small crevice. Laughing, she jumped to her feet and dusted her new dress off.

She'd just had her birthday and Ichigo had given her new clothes again. She had grown several inches in a year, making her old dress too short to wear anymore according to Ichigo. When he had asked her for her favorite colors, she had listed off every color she could think of. His eyes had gotten big and he quickly told her to pick her three favorites. She had to think, but in the end she had picked purple, green, and yellow. He'd given her three dresses in her favorite colors! She was currently wearing the purple one, and with the body of a seven year old human, it fell perfectly at her ankles. Ichigo said he had gotten her a long one because at the rate she was growing, by next year it would be at her knees.

Hinata gave a twirl while she looked around, sensing for Ulquiorra. It was then that she realized she wasn't alone. She saw a vastolorde staring at her. The vastolorde was powerful, but Hinata sensed that she was lacking a purpose. "Hello," Hinata said, giving a little curtsy.

The vastolorde looked startled at the introduction and took a step back. "Who are you and where did you come from?" the vastolorde said.

Hinata had a feeling that she shouldn't tell the vastolorde who she was. "I'm No One. Who are you?"

"I am Tier Harribel," the vastolorde responded.

Harribel kept looking at Hinata as if searching for something. It was then that Hinata noticed that Harribel was missing something, and she wasn't sure what it was. She felt that Harribel needed something to be able to sacrifice herself for in order to be whole. She tilted her head. Sacrifice wasn't something she could help her with. She could see the pleading in Harribel's eyes for help.

"Do you wish to be able to help others?"

"Help others?" Harribel seemed to roll the words off her tongue as if tasting how they sounded. "I would like to help others I think. Can I help you?"

Hinata smiled. "No, I have brothers to protect me, but there are some smaller hollows over there who are in danger right now." Hinata pointed off behind Harribel.

Harribel turned around; it took her a moment to also be able to sense the struggling hollows. "I can sense them. I think I will try and help them." She turned to face the girl, but Hinata had gone.

. . .

Starkk and Lilynette walked slowly across Hueco Mundo. It had been ages since they had come across anybody they could talk to, and they had nearly forgotten about their encounter with the young vastolorde, Ulquiorra. Starkk sensed a hollow nearby, but its spirit pressure dissipated before it came into view. With a sigh, Starkk sat down on a nearby rock.

"What are you doing?" Lilynette screeched, realizing that Starkk was no longer walking with her. "I finally get you to do something, and you're already giving up!"

"Calm down, Lilynette," Starkk said, stretching lazily.

"That's so lame, Starkk. Sitting is boring!" She aimed a kick at Starkk, but paused when she saw a flash of movement on the dune behind him. "Starkk, look!"

Starkk turned to follow Lilynette's gaze. It was the orange haired child arrancar again. She waved at them.

"Who is she, Starkk?" Lilynette asked.

"I don't know," Starkk said, standing up "Let's go find out."

The girl was already on the move when they started towards her.

"She's fast," Lilynette said, surprised as she picked up speed to race alongside Starkk.

"Yeah," he said, speeding up. Last time he had spotted the child arrancar, he hadn't sensed any spirit pressure, but now she was emitting a very weak spirit energy. Every time he thought they had gained on her, she would change direction and zipped off again.

"Starkk, she's getting away!" Lilynette whined.

"I know," he said, frustrated.

After another few minutes, the girl had completely vanished. Lilynette was panting; it had been a while since either of them had run that fast. Starkk turned in a circle, trying to find the girl's spirit pressure, and was startled to sense another spirit pressure nearby. The presence was familiar.

"Come, Lilynette," Starkk said, headed off towards the familiar presence.

They crested another hill and found the young vastolorde standing in the valley below them. Starkk, noticed there was something different about the hollow though; Ulquiorra was now a full-fledged arrancar. Starkk slid down the sand with Lilynette right behind him.

"Hey!" he called.

Ulquiorra turned around, wide eyed. He had sensed their approach, but he had been too preoccupied with following Hinata's spirit pressure to mind how close they were getting to him. "Oh, it's you two," Ulquiorra said.

"Did you see her?" Lilynette asked, bouncing with energy. "The orange haired arrancar? She came this way."

Starkk kicked Lilynette to shut her up. "We haven't seen you in a while. I almost thought we dreamed you up."

Ulquiorra turned and started to walk away. "I've been busy."

"Hey!" Lilynette yelled, but Starkk covered her mouth.

"If he doesn't want to talk, we'll just follow him around for a bit. It's not like we have anything better to do," Starkk told her.

Ulquiorra glanced back, but kept walking with a sigh. They were following him; eventually they'd get bored and leave him alone.

. . .

Ichigo walked out of class, saying goodbye to Tatsuki, and found Hinata waiting for him. As she had gotten older, she had visited more often. Some days she would sit in class with him, and other days she would wait to walk him home from school. She'd had four birthdays now, and looked about twelve years old. Normally, Ichigo would greet her with a smile, but today he was distracted. He managed to give her a half smile as she took his hand.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Hinata asked.

"My new friend, Chad, I told you about him last time, didn't come to school today and I'm worried that my enemies are after him because he helped me last time," Ichigo said, taking a detour from his usual route home.

Sensing his urgency and worry, Hinata picked up her pace to match his as they ran towards the river. Ichigo was almost crushing her hand in his, but Hinata didn't mind.

They found Chad under the bridge tied up and surrounded by a group of hoodlums. She watched as another one punched Chad. She felt her spiritual pressure flare. How dare they hurt Ichigo's friend!

Ichigo relaxed his hold on her hand before giving it a light squeeze. "Its okay, Hinata. This is mine and Chad's fight; you can sit this one out."

She looked up at his face; she could tell that he was serious and that it was something that he needed to do. Sighing, she gave his hand a light squeeze back. "I want to help, but I'll let you fight this one."

He looked surprise that she wasn't offering to fight. "Thanks," he said.

As she let go of his hand, he raced off to rescue his friend. She followed at a slower pace. She watched as Ichigo jump kicked the man who appeared to be the leader. He took the leader's phone out of his pocket and called for an ambulance. "How many ambulances?" he asked as he slowly counted off the men, "One, two, three, four, five!"

Ichigo dived into the battle, a manic grin on his face.

By this point Hinata had made it to the bridge. She appeared to dance as she avoided the men who were rushing towards Ichigo. She finally made it to Chad and squatted down in front of him. Chad didn't look like the other kids in Ichigo's class. He was really tall with dark skin and brown hair. She reached out to feel his spiritual pressure and gave a smile. He had a strong pressure that was gentle; he would be a good friend for Ichigo.

She sat there for only a few minutes before Ichigo came over and flopped on the ground at Chads feet holding up a medallion. "I think this is yours, Chad."

The bigger boy seemed to be shocked at what he had just seen and kept looking at Ichigo.

Ichigo gave a small laugh before saying, "I think I have an idea, Chad. How about you just stay who you are, never throw a punch for yourself. Instead, throw those punches for me, and I'll throw my punches for you. If there is ever anything so important that you will protect it with your life, I'll protect it with mine as well. What do you say?"

Chad, after a moments pause, said, "Sure."

Ichigo smiled and closed his eyes.

Smiling, Hinata reached out, touching Chad and Ichigos knees, connecting them together to seal the promise.

Chad smiled at the warmth that spread throughout his body.

After releasing Chad, they left.

"Dad's gonna kill me," Ichigo said as they began to walk home wiping at the blood on his face while Hinata walked beside him.

"Your friend is really nice," she told Ichigo. "I like him."

"Chad?" Ichigo asked. "Yeah, he's a great guy." Ichigo said, smiling, "but for the life of him, he would never hurt a fly to protect himself."

Hinata was glad to see Ichigo smiling. Even though Ichigo had been hurt, she felt that it had built a strong relationship between Ichigo and Chad, and she was happy Ichigo had made another friend.

"Thanks for letting me fight for myself," Ichigo said.

"I didn't like it," Hinata admitted, "but I'm happy you're okay. Besides, Chad said he'd protect you from now on."

They walked the rest of the way home in silence. Ichigo looked down at Hinata. She was maturing at a remarkable rate. Over the past couple years, Ichigo had begun to see ghosts and interact with them. He had come to realize that Hinata was not imaginary, but she also wasn't like the spirits he came across. It didn't matter to him what Hinata was; she had said her purpose was to chase his sadness away. He was grateful for her; she was truly a ray of sunshine in his life. He watched her now as she waved goodbye and vanished into the sunset.

Ichigo smiled. Today had been a good day.

. . .

Hinata bounced into Kisuke's shop, singing a song she had heard Ichigo listening to the other day. Kisuke was never surprised by her visits anymore; he couldn't keep her out even if he tried. After the first couple visits, he had started giving her candy samples.

"Oh Uncle Kisuke!" she called in a sing song voice.

"I'll be out in a minute!" he called.

Kisuke was examining the data on his screens while taking a sample of Hinata's spirit energy once more. She had amazing control over her spirit energy, but she let just enough leak that he was able to track her growth and progression by taking samples when she came to the shop. He had judged from her growth rate that his experiment would be ready by the next year. She was currently about the size of a fourteen year old, and would be about the size of a fifteen year old by the end of summer if his calculations were right.

He'd grown use to this strange arrancar child. Her existence was still an anomaly, but he had learned to look past what she was and see her for who she was. He'd never met a kinder child and had grown fond of her gentle nature. Smiling, he went out to greet her.

. . .

Nel walked across the sand dunes of Heuco Mundo admiring the moonlight. She was one of the few arrancars in Heuco Mundo, but she didn't mind walking alone. Her fraccions were off doing the assignments she had given them and she was taking the time now to just enjoy the night air.

"Look out!" a voice called, and an orange blur hurtled past Nel smashing into a nearby sand dune sending an explosion of sand into the air.

Blinking in surprise, Nel found a young teenage girl emerge from the pile of sand. The girl stood up, shaking her long orange hair. She then turned sharply and prepared to race off again. However, the girl froze where she stood when she saw Nel and looked up at her with wide brown eyes.

"You're pretty!" the girl said.

Nel felt oddly touched by the young girl. With a start, Nel realized that the orange haired child was an arrancar as well, but the only sign of her mask was two slim white bones that seemed to hold back the girl's bangs like clips. "Who are you?" Nel asked.

"My name's Hinata Kurosaki!" the girl said proudly. "What's your name?"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, but you can call me Nel."

"Nel," the girl said, sounding it out, then smiled brightly. "Do you like games, Nel?"

"What?"

The girl appeared in front of Nel in a moment, touching her lightly on the arm. "You're it! Catch me if you can!" With that, the girl raced off laughing.

Nel was moving before she knew what had happened. The girl arrancar, Hinata, had run off with an amazing speed. Nel zoomed after her, feeling a childish pleasure at the chase. She could sense a small spirit pressure coming from the child, but instinct told Nel that Hinata would be a formidable opponent if she ever decided to fight. However, the girl seemed to have no interest in anything other than their game, and Nel could sense no intent to kill from the child.

Hinata made a sharp turn and zoomed past Nel, catching her off guard, and then froze a short distance away.

"Uh-oh," the girl whispered, looking up into the eyes of another arrancar.

Nel met his gaze; this arrancar _did_ have murderous intent.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice cold and low.

Before Nel could answer, however, Hinata spoke up. "Don't be angry, Ulqui! She's my friend!"

"I told you to be careful," the arrancar scolded her.

"Excuse me," Nel said, approaching slowly, hands out so that he could see that she meant no harm. "I'm Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, or Nel for short. I meant no harm; she asked to play and I agreed."

"See, Ulquiorra! She's nice!"

Ulquiorra shot Nel a distrustful glare as he slid an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "We're going home."

"Wait!" Nel said, reaching out. "Please . . . it's nice to meet others. There are so few of us."

Ulquiorra turned, his expression softening ever so slightly. Hinata ducked under his arm and ran to give Nel a hug. She was surprised for a moment before she also wrapped her arms around Hinata with a smile. It was different, but it felt nice.

"Please," the male arrancar spoke.

She looked up and met Ulquiorra's gaze.

"Don't tell anyone about her."

Nel found the words falling from her mouth before she could think through his request. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Ulquiorra gave her a brief nod and a look that said "if you tell others about her, I will find you." Then the orange haired arancar and the green arrancar vanished into the distance.


	10. Chapter 9 The Three Gifts

I do not own Bleach

I co-write this story with one of my roommates and as it is Winter Break we are no longer able to publish as often as we have been. The good news is we stocked up on chapters before the break began so we should be able to post about every four days for the next two to three weeks. Thank you so much for all of our faithful followers and readers you make us want to keep writing and we truly enjoy this story!

Chapter Nine – The Three gifts

Kiskue smiled, pulling out his fan and genially waving it in front of his face. It was done. It had taken him almost four years, but it was done. He had made a gigai for Hinata. As he had watched her, he had noticed the sadness she felt that others could not see her. It was for this reason that he had decided to make a gigai for her.

It had been hard because she was an arrancar. With Shinigami, it wasn't too hard to create a gigai because their bodies where so similar to humans. With arrancars, their spiritual bodies had been consumed by the darkness inside them to such a point that they could not be put into a gigai that looked like a human. Though Hinata was an arrancar, he had greater hope that she would be compatible with a gigai. The happiness that she had around her gave him hope that her spirt hadn't been completely consumed. All the information that he had gathered over the past years led him to believe that he was right.

Sitting in front of him was a gigai that looked just like Hinata. He smiled one more time; all he needed now was for Hinata to come and visit.

…

Hinata stretched to her full height of five foot five. She was already taller than all the other girls in Ichigo's classes. She smiled, looking down at Ichigo, who was sleeping on the hill side facing the river. They had spent the day going around Karukura, and just having fun. She sighed as she laid back. Summer was almost over, and she would soon lose all the time that she had together with Ichigo. He would go back to school to a world that no one could see her in. It was hard; they weren't able to do lots of things because people couldn't see her. She wanted to have her own ice-cream cone, but she was only ever able to steal some of Ichigo's when he got some.

What she really wanted was to be able to go to school the same way Ichigo did. To have the friends she had made actually be able to see her. To touch them and give them hugs without them thinking there was a ghost. She was smart enough to go to school; she would even say that she had passed Ichigo a while back, but she would never know.

She was tired of this world in which she was just a figment of nothing, flowing through without even being able to make a difference. She ran her hand through Ichigo's hair and smiled. It was so soft. If it wasn't for him, she wasn't sure she would have kept coming back to the world of the living. She had other family, but Kisuke and Tessai worked and weren't able to spend much time with her.

She waited until Ichigo woke up before telling him she would see him later and left. She could tell that he was worried about her. He had asked what was wrong, but she had shrugged it off. There wasn't anything he could do.

. . .

Nikko and Masaki were walking back to the little red and yellow house when a chilly breeze caused them to pause. Looking up, they saw the sky begin to darken, slowly changing from its usual clear, sunny skies to cloud shrouded moonlight.

"What's going on, Nikko?" Masaki asked, wide eyed.

Nikko stared up at the night sky. "It's Hinata," she whispered. "She's never been this sad before."

. . .

Hinata found herself in front of Uncle Kisuke's shop after she left Ichigo. She smiled as she ran in yelling, "Uncle Kiskue, Uncle Tessai, Ururu, Jinta!"

She picked Ururu up and swung the solemn girl around before jumping on Jinta, who was trying to escape. "Love you, Jinta!" she cried as he struggled to get away from her.

"Stay away from me!" Jinta hollered, leaning away from her.

Dropping him, she skipped and jumped into Tessai's arms as he hugged her and swung her around. She kissed him on the cheek. "Uncle Tessai, it has been so long!" He gave her a smile as he put her back on the ground.

"Hinata, it has been too long. Kiskue is in the back." Tessai said as he patted her on the head. She skipped away, but not before Jinta tried to throw something at her. She caught it, laughing as she danced away.

She found Kiskue waiting for her in the hall, holding out a lollipop with his arms wide open. She ran to him yelling, "Uncle Kiskue!" before throwing herself into his arms. He was braced this time, so he was only pushed back a foot.

"My little girl, you have grown so much!"

She giggled as she hopped back down to her own feet. "I haven't grown that much since I last saw you, silly."

"What do you mean? Of course you have grown!"

She giggled again as she grabbed the lollipop he extended towards her. She ripped off the wrapping and put it into her month, sighing happily. Strawberry her favorite flavor. It was only at Uncle Kiskue's shop that she could eat sweets without having to worry about people seeing her.

Kiskue smiled down at her, ruffling her hair as she ate the candy. "That's not the only gift I have for you."

Her eyes got big as she looked up at him. "You have something else?"

His eyes glistened with mischief. "Do I?"

She hit him on the shoulder softly. "You do too! You just told me!"

He walked away, fanning himself. "Why, I don't know what you are talking about?"

She jumped on his back and he faltered for a moment before standing tall again. "Come on, you can tell me," she whined.

"I have no idea what you mean?"

"Kisuke!"

He laughed. "I'm joking, joking. Hold on tight." With that he flash stepped and she let out a cry of pure joy as he sped down to his basement. At the foot of the stairs, she saw a large box bigger then she was. "Tada!" Kisuke proclaimed.

Hinata jumped off his back and looked at it.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?"

With no need to be told again, she jumped on it. In a matter of seconds, there was paper flying through the air. Kisuke laughed as he watched her. Tessai was climbing down the ladder towards them when the paper finally settled.

Hinata sat with wide eyes as she stared at, well. . . herself. It looked just like her: from her waist length orange hair, down to the small bones holding her bangs out of her eyes. She looked back at Kisuke who was smiling. "What is it?" she asked as she turned back to it tentatively putting her hand out to touch it.

He walked up beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's called a gigai. It's a temporary body that allows you to be seen by other people besides Ichigo."

Her hand paused just before touching it, and she looked up at Kiskue as if asking him if it was real.

He smiled down at her. "It's real my dear. There are some drawbacks, however. You won't be able to fully use your spiritual energy when you are in it, and you will be physically human in both speed and strength. You will, in all senses of the phrase, be a normal human being." He sat there with her for a moment as she looked back at it. "Do you want to try it on?"

At that moment she nodded and reached out her hand, touching it. There was a bright flash of light. When it cleared, Hinata was no longer in front of the gigai.

"How does it feel, my dear?"

Slowly the gigai stood up, flexing its hand. "It feels . . . small . . . and restraining."

He gave a smile. "Sorry about that, but to get you to fit I had to make lots of restraints, but you'll get used to it. Why don't you go and try it out?"

She gave a nod as she slowly walked around before trying to run. Once she was comfortable with her new body, she ran back to Kisuke, doing some cart wheels along the way.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Kisuke!" She yelled as once again she threw her arms around his neck. This time though, she found herself crying tears of joy. She could be seen now; she wouldn't have to hide anymore, pretending she didn't exist, and carful to not touch anything. "Thank you."

He patted her back. "You're welcome." They sat like that for a couple of minutes before he gently pulled her away from him. "You need to know that I made it so that your gigai can go back to Hueco Mundo with you without you having to take it off. If you ever want to take it off, just bring it back to the shop and we will watch it."

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

He gave another smile. "Why don't you go outside and have some fun?"

Her eyes lit up. She could go outside and people would see her! "Yeah!"

She was about to start climbing the ladder when Kisuke hollered, "Wait! There is one more thing I need to tell you!"

She stopped and looked at him.

"We had one more surprise for you. . ."

. . .

Hinata was skipping through the streets. This was the best day ever! She had a body now and people could see her. Originally, she had wanted to run and show Ichigo, but Kisuke had said it would be better to surprise him after she had gotten use to her body. So here she was with an hour before sunset, just wandering the streets, touching things as she went. The world felt so different when one had a physical body.

It was as she was skipping that she felt the appearance of the hollow. She skidded to a stop. She felt around and stretched out her spiritual pressure; once she knew where it was, she took off at a run. She was slightly frustrated at how slow her gigai made her, but she eventually made it in time to see the hollow chasing a small spirit. She jumped at it, kicking it behind the head. She was surprised when it didn't die.

She quickly jumped back as it turned on her. It let out a shrill scream, taking a swipe at her. She managed to jump out of the way, landing on its arm as it swung by. Running up its arm, she kneed it in the face and causing the mask to crack, but it wasn't enough. Again, she was forced to retreat as it tried to grab her. She watched it with a close eye as it put its hand to its mask, roaring again. It lowered itself to all fours before running towards her. She took a defensive stance and was ready to attack when a blue flash of light raced past her, slamming into the charging hollow and causing it to dissipate. Startled, she looked back to see a young man with black hair hanging in his face wearing glasses which he pushed up. What surprised her most was the blue spiritual pressure in the shape of a bow. He looked at her.

She felt an innate fear take over, and she turned and ran. She heard the boy yell out from behind her to stop. When she didn't, she heard him give chase. She ran for only a few minutes and was about to lose him when all of a sudden he appeared in front of her. She screamed and smashed into him. He seemed unprepared for this as they tumbled to the ground, becoming entangled. Frightened, she tried to get off him and run away, but he grabbed her arm before she could move very far.

"Hold on, will you!" He said as he sat up. His glasses had been knocked off; he reached towards the ground, trying to find them. She was shaking by the time he managed to put them on and look at her. "Now," he said as he pushed his glasses up, "you can see hollows, can't you?"

Her face grew pale. "I see that I am right." He gave a small smile. "I have felt many hollows over the past year, but before I could get there, they would always vanish. That was you're doing, wasn't it?"

He seemed nice, even though her instincts were telling her to run. She nodded her head, shaking.

He seemed excited by this. "So I was right! How long have you been able to see hollows?"

She looked up at him, "I've. . . I've been able to see them my whole life." She said in a quaking voice.

He smiled at this. "Are you a quincy?"

"What's a quincy?"

His eyes got wide at this. "A quincy is one who fights hollows and kills them." Then, in a much quieter voice, "she definitely has the spiritual pressure of a quincy; how can she not know she is one?" He seemed to be mulling this over before he spoke again. "My name is Uryu Ishida, what is yours?"

"Ah. . . Hinata Kurosaki."

His eyes widened at her last name. "Humm. . ."

They sat like that for several minutes before finally she shifted her weight and he realized she was still sitting on him. His face went bright red as he gently pushed her off of him. "I'm so sorry!"

She looked at him, puzzled. "It's fine."

He pushed his glasses up awkwardly.

"Can I go now?"

He flushed again, letting go of her arm. With that, they both stood up. As she began to walk away, he hollered out to her once more: "Will I see you again?"

She looked over her shoulder, "I don't know." With that, she turned and ran away.

. . .

Author's note: Thanks for reading everyone! Please review and guess what the third gift is!


	11. Chapter 10 A Day of Suprises

I do not own Bleach

We would like to give a thanks to lifethroughanotherseyes in responding to our question at the end of last chapter. Thanks to all who read.

Chapter 10 – A day of surprises

Ichigo glanced at Chad and then back at the thugs that were tailing them. They were nearing the school yard; it was their first day of high school, and they were already in the middle of a fight. With a bang, the two boys crashed into the school's yard. There was a startled yell behind Ichigo; there were two boys watching their grand theatrical entrance. They had been reading the board with the class assignments on it, and Ichigo and Chad had just crashed through it with the two thugs. More thugs filled the yard, surrounding Ichigo and Chad.

Great, Ichigo thought as he watched the brown haired boy panic while his dark haired companion watched them with interest. One of the thugs addressed the boy who was panicking while the dark haired one approached Ichigo and held out a hand. "I'm Mizuiro Kojima," he said. "I'm in 1-3. Nice to meet you."

"Did you say 1-3?" Ichigo asked. "I'm in that class too. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and this big guy is Sado Yasutora. Nice to meet you."

Chad nodded confirmation.

Turning to Mizuiro's companion, who appeared to be having a fit, Ichigo asked, "Who's that?"

"He's Keigo Asano. He's pretty smart, but he never studies." Mizuiro said, watching as one of the thugs had a foot on Keigo's back. Keigo was lying flat on the ground, crying.

Ichigo was impressed by the two boys' friendship. "Hey Mizuiro, are you good at making excuses?"

"Yeah," Mizuiro answered. "A little too good, actually."

"I'll need a good one in the next five minutes to keep me from getting expelled after I save Asano." Ichigo grinned at the boy, and dashed off, leaving Mizuiro staring. The thugs were going to be his classmates, but taking them out didn't bother Ichigo one bit. By the end of the tussle, he had made two new friends and was able to walk to class with them.

. . .

Hinata skipped down the halls of Karakura High School, thrilled to be wearing her new school uniform. She'd grown used to her gigai over the past couple days after some practice and was excited to see Ichigo's face when he saw her in the classroom. She would finally be able to spend time with him and meet all of his friends in person! She skipped around a corner and slammed into another girl.

"Sorry, sorry!" the girl apologized, turning to help Hinata back to her feet.

"No, it's okay," Hinata said, rubbing her head, surprised that it hurt. "I wasn't paying attention." She smiled at the girl she'd run into. "I'm Hinata! What's your name?"

"I'm Orihime," the girl said with a big smile. Hinata liked her instantly. "It's nice to meet you."

Hinata looked around the hallway. "Orihime, do you know where class 1-3 is?"

Orihime's eyes widened. "That's my class! We can walk there together!" Just then, she looked over Hinata's head and waved at another student. "Hi, Tatsuki!" Orihime called. "Come walk with us!"

Hinata spun around excitedly. "Tatsuki!" she called, running to hug the girl.

Tatsuki dodged, startled by the orange blur of movement, but found herself caught up in a bone crushing hug anyways. "Who . . .?" She stammered.

"Ichigo has told me all about you!" Hinata said excitedly. "We're going to be best friends!"

"You know Kurosaki-san?" Orihime asked, surprised.

"Yep! He's –" Hinata was cut off as another girl dove into their midst, hugging Orihime from behind.

Tatsuki detangled herself from Hinata and attacked the newcomer, sending the girl flying and yelling, "Stay away from Orihime!"

"Who's that?" Hinata asked.

"She's a pervert," Tatsuki said darkly, grabbing Orihime's hand. "Let's go to class."

Hinata was confused; she'd never heard that word before. She'd have to ask Ichigo about it later. Shrugging, she followed Tatsuki and Orihime to the classroom, skipping down the hallway with a sunny smile.

. . .

Ichigo walked into class 1-3 with Chad, Mizuiro, and Keigo, listening to Keigo's chatter. Many of his classmates were already there.

"Hi, Ichigo!" a bright voice said.

"Hey," he said, turning slightly to acknowledge the speaker. He froze mid-step and did a double take. Hinata was standing next to Tatsuki, dressed in a school uniform. She waved happily and skipped over to him. Before he could make sense of what was happening, she was jumping at Chad.

"Chad!" She flung her arms around his middle; her head barely came up to his chest. "I'm so happy to finally meet you in person!"

Chad looked just as shock as Ichigo felt. He looked down at his attacker, then shot a look at Ichigo. "You know her?" he asked.

"You can see her?" Ichigo asked, finally finding his voice.

"Yeah," he said, looking back down at the orange haired girl. She had let go now, and smiled up at him. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Ichigo talks about you all the time!" Hinata said happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo hissed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of Chad's hearing. "Why can everyone see you?" He hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks, and her appearance now had thrown him off guard.

"I wanted to come to school with you, silly," she giggled.

"Why can they see you?" Ichigo repeated.

"Hmmm?" she asked, stalling as she thought about it. "Uncle Kisuke gave me a special present. He told me I could come to school and be with you all the time now!"

Ichigo blinked. That wasn't the explanation he was expecting. Hinata had talked about "Uncle Kisuke" before, but Ichigo had never actually met any of the people she talked about. How had her uncle made it possible for people to see her? He didn't understand, so he just shook his head and let her go.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Keigo called. "Is she your girlfriend? She's h-"

Ichigo dove and covered the boy's mouth. He'd just met Keigo, but he didn't want Hinata getting crazy ideas in her head. "Shut up! She's not my girlfriend! She's just . . . a friend . . ." he explained lamely.

"Who is she, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, coming up behind Keigo.

Ichigo looked back at Hinata who just waved cheerfully. "She's a friend," he answered again. How was he going to explain this? He was saved from having to say anything more by the teacher entering the room. Ichigo relaxed at this, knowing that the others couldn't ask him questions for a while and giving him the chance to come up with a story. He watched as Hinata happily bounced to the desk by the window in front of him. He sighed. At least he'd be able to keep an eye on her here in class. It still didn't make sense to him that other people could see her now.

. . .

"Take your seats!" the teacher called, walking into the room.

Hinata raced to her seat with a skip in her step. It would be her first day being able to actually be in class. She watched with interest as the teacher called each student by name and they stood up. It looked like all the students were used to this. It must be a first day thing; she had missed all of Ichigo's first days of school.

She was surprised when a familiar name was read by the teacher, "Ishida, Uryu." She looked around to see who it was.

The boy with the glasses stood answering, "Here." He only sent a casual look at the teacher before turning his eyes towards her. He had a smile on his face like he had won the jackpot. Hinata squirmed deeper into her seat. She would have to be careful around that boy.

He was still staring at her when the teacher got to her name. "Kurosaki, Hinata."

She forgot about Uryu for a moment as she sprung to her feet, raising her hand and cheerfully saying, "Here!"

There was a collective gasp and chairs squeaked as all heads in the room turned to look at her. She gave another big smile before sitting down in her chair, turning around to look at Ichigo who was covering his face.

He had forgotten that he had given Hinata his last name. "Kurosaki, Ichigo," the teacher called.

He stood still, not looking at anyone as he gazed out the window. "Here," he said softly. He sat back down and shot a glace sideways to see that Hinata was still turned around and smiling at him. He gave a soft sigh; it was going to be a long day.

Everyone in the class continued to shoot glances at him and Hinata for the rest of homeroom.

. . .

As soon as the first break began, Hinata found herself being dragged off by Ichigo. She gave a cheery smile and a wave to the class who were all watched wide eyed from their seats. Once they were far enough away from every one, he stopped.

He took a few calming breaths before turning back to her, "How can people see you?"

She smiled, "I told you! Uncle Kiskue gave me a body, and enrolled me in school so that I could attend with you. I'm so happy Ichigo!" She cried, tears of joy falling from her eyes as she looked up at him. He looked shocked by her tears. "I can finally talk to people and they can see me! I don't have to hide anymore!"

With that, he pulled her into a hug, patting her back and telling her it was okay. This is what's been bothering you?" She nodded her head against his chest. He gave a small sigh. "Silly, if you had told me that I would have helped you."

The bell rang then, and Ichigo grabbed her hand as they raced back to class.

. . .

During the next break, they ran off again. This time Ichigo explained to her that when she was at school she would have to hide the fact that they were siblings. Hinata didn't understand and felt hurt, but Ichigo looked so concerned that she agreed. At school they would be cousins. She smiled; at least they were still family!

. . .

Back in class, Hinata felt Ichigo watching her the rest of the day. She made sure to sit up straight in her seat, taking notes in the notebook Uncle Kisuke had given her along with her school bag and other supplies. She was trying hard to pay attention, but she already knew everything that the teacher was saying, so her mind drifted. She thought back to earlier that morning when she'd entered Kiskue's shop and he'd taken her to a mirror so she could see how her uniform looked. She had spent a few minutes turning and admiring her reflection in the mirror before hugging him and running off to school.

She smiled, filled with happiness. She was with Ichigo. Everyone could see her now. It was the best day she'd ever had.

. . .

Nikko smiled, looking up at the sky. The darkness had gone away, and she could feel how happy Hinata was now. Masaki joined Nikko outside, breathing in deeply, and whispered, "Keep her happy, Ichigo. Smile for her the same way you did for me."

. . .

Tatsuki squirmed in her seat, glancing back at Ichigo and the new girl, Hinata. Throughout the day until it was finally lunchtime. Just as during the breaks, Ichigo and Hinata were the first out the door. Orihime bounced over to Tatsuki's desk, but Tatsuki was already moving to follow Ichigo. She had questions, and he had the answers. She wove through the halls, trailing them out to the yard, hearing snippets of their conversation.

"What do you mean you don't have a lunch?!" Ichigo asked the orange haired girl.

Hinata giggled. "I think Uncle Kisuke forgot. He did give me a bag of sweets though . . ."

Tatsuki sped up; Ichigo and Hinata both had such long longs! They were already halfway across the yard by the time she made it out the doors. Just then, Tatsuki noticed Chizuro sneaking towards Hinata, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Chizuro had attacked Orihime at the same time that Hinata had attacked Tatsuki. Tatsuki took off at a run.

"Huh?" Hinata turned, lightly stepping to the side as Chizuro whizzed past her. "Oh! It's you!" She turned to Ichigo. "Hey, Ichigo what's a pervert?"

Before Ichigo could respond, Tatsuki made a snap decision and aimed a high kick at Hinata's head. The way Hinata had dodged Chizuro showed excellent reflexes as if she had taken martial arts for years. Once more, Hinata stepped lightly to the side, easily dodging Tatsuki's kick. Ichigo went to grab Hinata's arm, but the she was still fending off Tatsuki's lightning attacks.

"Where," Tatsuki huffed, throwing another punch, "did . . . you . . . learn . . . those . . . moves?"

Hinata wasn't even winded. Ichigo finally managed to grab her arm and pull her behind him, effectively putting himself between Hinata and Tatsuki. "What's going on?" he demanded, glaring at Tatsuki. Hinata peeked around Ichigo, eyes wide.

Tatsuki took a moment to catch her breath. "I asked you this morning. Who is she, Ichigo?"

"Why are you attacking her?" he responded.

"Oh!" Hinata smiled. "Ichigo's my cousin! Right, Ichigo?"

Ichigo glanced back at her, frowning. "Yeah."

Tatsuki huffed and glowered at the orange haired girl, she was furious that she had been bested. "Where did she learn karate like that? Even you're not good enough to keep up with me, Ichigo!"

"I learned –"

"She learned it before she moved here," Ichigo said, cutting Hinata off.

Why was he being so defensive about her? Tatsuki spotted Chizuro coming back for a second attempt. What was wrong with this girl?! Tatsuki went for a kick and Ichigo pulled Hinata to the side as her foot slammed into Chizuro.

"Leave her alone, you pervert!" Tatsuki yelled, glowering at Chizuro.

Ichigo didn't look happy either. He towered over Chizuro, who was fixing her glasses. "So you're the pervert Hinata asked me about. If you lay a single finger on her," he warned, "I will personally break both of your arms."

"Okay, okay," Chizuro said, brushing her uniform off. "I can't touch her. But . . ." Tatsuki watched as the girl ran off.

Hinata tugged on Ichigo's jacket sleeve. "What's a pervert?" she asked again.

Ichigo looked back and forth between Hinata and Tatsuki. "Umm . . . I'll explain that one later. Tatsuki, why did you attack Hinata."

Tatsuki eyed Hinata. "Join the karate club with me."

"What?" Hinata's eyes grew wide and she looked back up at Ichigo. "Are you in the karate club, Ichigo?"

Tatsuki grabbed Hinata's arm. "Please. We'd be undefeated if you joined the club with me!"

"Ummm . . ." Hinata said, smiling. "I don't want to if Ichigo's not on the team."

Tatsuki blinked. "What?"

"I came to school so I could spend more time with Ichigo."

Tatsuki shook her head. What was up with this girl? "The team could really use your help. Nobody in the dojo can keep up with me anymore."

Hinata looked up at Ichigo again, but he just watched her. "Thanks, but I'd rather be with Ichigo. He doesn't like it when I fight." She turned back to Ichigo. "I'm hungry, Ichigo! I thought we were going to eat lunch!"

Tatsuki was left standing there, numb from the rejection. Ichigo's cousin was strange; why was she always smiling? The girl was eerily similar to Orihime with her large eyes and cheerful attitude. She attempted asking Hinata to join the karate team again before the end of the school day, but Hinata just laughed and told her no again. Tatsuki didn't understand it. Ichigo had never mentioned his cousin before.

Watching them walk home from school, Tatsuki realized she was happy for Ichigo. Hinata was strange, but she made him smile. Tatsuki hadn't seen Ichigo smile like that since his mother had died. The way he was laughing now though, as they walked away waving goodbye to her, made her smile. It was nice to hear Ichigo's laugh again.


	12. Chapter 11 The Start of War

I do not own Bleach

Chapter Eleven: The Start of War

Ulquiorra watched as Hinata walked through the garganta. He had been surprised when she had shown up one day in a physical form saying it was a gift from her Uncle. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. It made her weaker, but he also saw how it made her happy. She now went to the world of the living every day to go to human school.

Ulquiorra had been curious when she had first taken an interest in the world of the living and had followed her. He had seen the orange haired boy that she called Ichigo. The boy's spirit pressure had an odd feel to it; it was very similar to Hinata's when had he first found her, with a great potential for growth. Ulquiorra didn't like it, but the boy sincerely seemed to want to protect Hinata, so he decided to leave the boy alone for now.

The people that worried him most were the Uncles. He could feel Shinigami spiritual pressure radiating from them despite their physical bodies. His distrust had grown when he felt them taking some of Hinata's spiritual pressure.

He had tried talking to Hinata about how she needed to be careful, but she didn't seem to fear her "Uncles" as all. Even now he could sense her new body slowly eating her spiritual pressure.

He let out a growl of frustration. He wanted to protect her to keep her for himself, but she was so free-spirited and happy. She would never be content to be kept locked away. He needed to be stronger to make sure that no matter what she did, he would be able to save her.

Sighing, he looked up to the moon again. It was the only comfort he had when she was gone. He felt the appearance of a nearby hollow. Looking towards the new hollow, he set off. Hunting was the best way for him to destress.

. . .

He sighed as another hollow vanished beneath his hand. Fighting simple hollows and even vastalordes weren't much of a fight any more. How was he to become stronger if there was no one to fight? He took off at a run again, looking for another fight. He came to an abrupt stop when he sensed Starrk and Lilynette. He had run into them a couple of times, always because Hinata lead them to him. Each time they found him they would follow him for weeks before he was able to get away, weeks in which he couldn't see Hinata. He was about to run the other way when he stopped. Starrk and Lilynette where strong; maybe they would help him get stronger. He thought for a few more minutes, weighing the pros and cons before heading towards them.

. . .

Starrk sank onto the sand again while Lilynette's back was turned. He was tired; they had been walking for over an hour and she hadn't let him rest. He had just enough time to close his eyes when he felt Lilynette's foot slam into his face.

"STARRK! How dare you lie down! Get your lazy bum up again!" She screeched at him.

He rolled over, "I'm tired."

"That is not an excuse! Get up now!" She began to kick him.

He sighed, trying to decide if it was worth it to get up, when he sensed a spiritual pressure nearby. Opening his eyes, he saw Ulquiorra standing on a sand dune looking down at them. Starrk went to stand, knocking Lilynette to the side. She had been jumping on him. "Hey," he called to the green eyed arrancar.

Ulquiorra looked hesitant, almost like he was going to run, but walked down the dune anyways. Once at the bottom, he looked Starrk in the eyes and said, "Fight me."

"What?"

"I want to become stronger, but all the other hollows are too weak. Fight me."

Starrk sighed, sitting back down on the sand. "I'm tired."

"I will come by more often if you fight me."

That got Starrk's attention. He liked Ulquiorra a lot and enjoyed having him around, but he was tired. He looked at Lilynette. "You want to fight him?"

She stopped mid kick, aiming at Starrk's head, and looked at Ulquiorra. "I can fight him?"

"Yeah."

She didn't need more encouragement than that and was off in a flash, throwing kicks at Ulquiorra who skillfully dodged them. Starrk smiled as he laid back down, closing his eyes. He had gotten both of the things he wanted. He was able to sleep, and Ulqiorra had promised to visit more often.

. . .

Ulquiorra was surprised that it was the smaller arrancar that he ended up fighting, but he found that she kept him on his toes. She was incredibly fast, and her attacks were directed to the soft spots on his body. He had little time to go on the offensive. They fought for several hours without relenting. They were so focused on fighting that they didn't notice that Starrk was awake or the strong spiritual pressure that had been approaching.

Starrk grabbed Lilynette as she flew once again at Ulquirroa. Lilynette went to complain but he stopped her. "We aren't alone anymore."

All three of them turned to look at the strange man standing on the sand dune above them.

. . .

Aizen smiled as he approached the three arrancars below him. They were strong, the strongest he had met so far. They turned to watch him. They weren't scared of him, which fascinated him. He watched them shift slightly into defensive stances, their eyes accusing.

The short girl made to move, but the taller arrancar caught her collar and held her back, whispering something. The green eyed arrancar kept his expression neutral, standing slightly apart from the other two.

"Give me a reason not to kill you, Shinigami," the feisty little arrancar said, eyes blazing. Her companion yanked on her collar again.

"Shouldn't you be asking why I'm not already dead?" Aizen said, smiling as he stopped before them, just a few feet away.

"We have no business with Shinigami," the green eyed one said. Aizen was impressed with his even tone.

"I have an offer. I'm looking for the strongest arrancars in all of Hueco Mundo."

The feisty one looked up at her companion. His eyes gleamed. "You think we're the strongest?" he asked, matching the other arrancar's even tone.

"Yes," Aizen said, "and I can make you stronger."

"We don't want to be stronger," the companion of the feisty one said.

The green eyed arrancar blinked. "Why should we trust you?"

Aizen met the arrancar's gaze. "I will destroy the seretei. Does that interest you?"

The three arrancars stared at him for a moment. "We're listening," the tall one said, releasing his hold on his companion.

Aizen smiled again. "Splendid."

. . .

Ulquiorra waited for Hinata to return from the world of the living, felling uneasy. His encounter with the Shinigami had excited him, but frightened him at the same time. The Shinigami was strong. Ulquiorra had agreed to join with him; he wanted to be stronger. However, he didn't dare mention Hinata to the strange man. He was looking for the strongest arrancar, which meant he would search out Hinata if he could. Ulquiorra had tried to imagine Hinata joining the Shinigami man, but she was too sweet and innocent; she would never agree to his cause. Ulquiorra had to keep the Shinigami from finding out about her existence.

He felt grateful to Starkk for keeping quiet about Hinata as well. When Aizen had asked if any of them knew of other arrancars, Starkk and Lilynette had denied all knowledge of other arrancars. Ulquiorra had felt a weight lift off of his shoulders at that point. For now, Hinata would be kept secret. No one would be able to touch her for the time being. He hated the idea, but he knew that he would have to ask her to spend even more time in the world of the living. It would be better for her to stay with the human boy, Ichigo, than to be caught by Aizen.


	13. Extra Chapter Christmas

I do not own Bleach.

We wanted to have a little fun and do a short Christmas chapter of a Christmas for Hinata. It does not follow the time line. It takes place when she is about physically seven.

Extra Chapter: Christmas

Hinata gave Ulquiorra a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back later!" She soon found herself skipping through the garganta. She was excited; both Ichigo and Uncle Kisuke had told her that she had to visit today, telling her it was a surprise. She decided that first she would visit Uncle Kisuke, then Ichigo.

When she landed in the world of the living, she looked around to get her bearings before skipping off towards his shop. She was about half way there when she stopped. Over on the fence, there was a black cat that was watching her. Smiling, she went over and petted it. With a deep rumbling purr, it arched its back into her palm. She picked it up carefully, placing it in her arms before heading off once again.

She couldn't wait to show Uncle Kisuke what she had found!

"Uncle Kisuke! Uncle Tessai!" She was surprised when she entered to see that the room was lit up with bright lights, and there was even a tree in the corner with boxes under it. She saw movement as Uncle Kisuke rounded the corner. She flew towards him giving him a one armed hug with the black cat smashed between them. "Uncle Kisuke! You will never believe what I found!"

He smiled down at her, and chuckled at the cat who was trying not to be smashed. "What did you find, my dear?" he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I found a person in a cat's body!"

His eyes widened fractionally; he leaned down as if to look at the cat closer who seemed to have wide eyes. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"I found her on the way here. It's weird because the cat has a male body, but the spirit is female and is human just like you Uncle Kisuke!" She held the cat out for him to see it better.

He shook his head. He needed to stop being so surprised. "You better come out Yoruichi, my dear." He gave another chuckle as the cat transformed into a beautiful women with purple hair.

At that moment, Tessai came charging into the room, grabbing Hinata and covering her eyes while throwing some clothes to Yoruichi. "Not in front of Hinata." He gave them both a look.

"Ah, but Tessai, she is so cute." Yoruichi said while giving a purr. She quietly pulled on her clothes.

"What's happening, Uncle Tessai?" Hinata piped up when she found she couldn't take his hand off her eyes.

"Nothing, Hinata. Aunt Yoruichi is just putting some clothes on. Make sure you never let anyone see your naked body Hinata; it's not decent." Tessai said.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. Kisuke looked like he was about to say something he shouldn't when Tessai shot him a look that that made Kisuke close his mouth, blushing with embarrassment. When Tessai finally uncovered Hinata's eyes, she looked around until she saw Yoruichi, then ran to her and gave her a hug.

"Aunt Kitty!"

"Aunt what?" Yoruichi said.

When Kisuke started laughing, she threw something at him, causing him to give a yelp of pain. Hinata turned to look at him, confused. He was holding his head and sent a glare towards Yoruichi. "I'm alright, my dear, don't worry about me."

Hinata looked back at Yoruichi when she gave her a hug back. "Now, what did you call me?" Youruichi asked again.

Hinata looked up at the older women, confused. "Aunt Kitty?"

There was some more muffled laughing that was quickly silenced by a yelp. "My name isn't Aunt Kitty, its Yoruichi."

"But you are my aunt," Hinata stated.

Yoruichi sent a look at Tessai, who wasn't looking at her. "I'm not your Aunt."

"Tessai said you were."

Yoruichi sent a glare at Tessai, who shivered but wouldn't look at her. "I'm not related to your uncles."

"But your spiritual pressure feels like theirs, and just like Ichigo's dad's." Hinata said tilting her head.

"Ah. . ." she looked to Kiskue who shook his head, telling her not to tell Hinata that they were Shinigami. Yoruichi sighed. "I'm not your Aunt; I'm your cousin."

Hinata was already shaking her head. "Ichigo said cousins are people your own age. You're too old to be my cousin."

Kisuke was once again silenced by a flying object.

"Okay, I'm not a kitty." Yoruichi could feel her cool slipping.

Hinata smiled up at her. "Of course you are!"

With Hinata's big brown eyes looking up at her, Yoruichi gave in with a sigh. "I can't convince you otherwise, can I?"

With that, Hinata jumped up hugging Yoruichi around the neck. "Thank you so much, Aunt Kitty!"

Yoruichi hugged her back with a smile, but felt a vein trying to pop on top of her head when she heard Kisuke's hidden laughter. Gently, she put Hinata on the ground. "I'll be right back sweetheart."

Half an hour later, both Yoruichi and Kisuke came back. Yoruichi looked bright and happy; Kiskue looked like he had been through battle.

Hinata ran up to him. "Are you okay, Uncle Kisuke?"

With a look from Yoruichi he replied, "I'm fine; I just had a talk with Aunt Kit. . ." he was stopped by a flying table to the face.

Hinata gave a slight scream, before he sat up with a slightly dazed look. "Just fine, my dear, just fine," he mumbled before he laid back down on the ground.

Tessai gave a small cough, drawing there attention. "Well how about we open some presents."

"Why are we opening presents, Uncle Tessai? It's not my birthday. Is it your birthday?"

"No," Tessai chuckled. "Why, my dear, today is Christmas! A time of year for families to be together and celebrate!"

With that, they dove into the presents that were under the tree. Once all of the presents where unwrapped, Hinata looked down at her little pile. Uncle Kisuke had given her a large pile of candy; Uncle Tessai gave her a small apron; Aunt Kitty gave her some gloves that she had told her would grow with her and were good to fight in. She made sure to give each of them a big hug and thank them before saying she had to leave to go and see Ichigo.

. . .

It didn't take her long to get to Ichigo's, but she wasn't sure how to meet him. She looked in the window and saw a similar tree in the living room to Uncle Kisuke's. There was also paper all over the floor and the two sisters where playing with different games. A man's back was seen as he was picking up the paper, but no Ichigo. Maybe he was in his room.

Hinata got a mischievous smile on her face as she looked up at the window on the second floor. Placing her presents on the ground and picking out a candy for her brother, she prepared to meet Ichigo. With a running start, she was able to jump all the way to his window, landing on the sill. She saw him at his desk with some paper. She gave a knock on the window, which scared Ichigo. She giggled as he looked wide eyed at her. He quickly opened the window and pulled her in.

"Don't scare me like that, Hinata!" He accused her.

She just smiled back at him. "Happy Christmas, Ichigo!" She sang happily.

He looked taken aback. "How did you know it was Christmas?"

"Uncle Tessai told me!" She stated in a matter of fact voice. "Can we play?"

He gave her a smile. "Sorry, I can't today. My family and I are going to go caroling to the old folks soon, but I have a gift for you!" He ran to his desk and pulled out the object that he had been taping paper to. He handed it to her and watched with excitement as she opened it. It was a small pail and shovel, the kind you use to build sand castles. "You told me awhile back that there is a lot of sand where you live, so I thought you might like to build a sand castle like we did last week, but with your other brother."

Hinata jumped to her feet and crushed Ichigo in a hug. "Thank you so much!" she cried.

After giving him her gift, she had to leave because Ichigo's Dad called from downstairs saying that they were leaving soon. With one final hug and a promise to come visit again, she went back to Hueco Mundo.

. . .

Ulquiorra was waiting for her when she got back. He was surprised to see her holding a bright green bucket full of water, which she was carefully carrying. After setting it down carefully, she ran to Ulquiorra, giving him a big hug. "Merry Christmas, Ulqui!"

He was puzzled by this. "Christmas?"

"Yep! It's a time when I get to spend the day with my family, so I came back so we can play!" She showed him all the gifts she had been given and even gave him some of her candy. When she showed him the bucket again, he asked about the water and she explained that it was to build a castle.

So sitting together on the sand, Hinata taught Ulquiorra how to build a sand castle. As they were building, Hinata found that her spiritual energy worked better than the water to hold the sand in place. They built the castle until it was way over Ulquiorra's head and it almost seemed to be a real house. Hinata was so tired that she fell asleep right there on the sand in front of her Christmas castle.

Ulquiorra gave smiled as he picked her up, and carried her home.


	14. Chapter 12 An Unlikely Agreement

I do not own Bleach. Sorry for the late update with the holidays I lost track of what day it was.

Chapter 12 An Unlikely Agreement

Uryu was sitting in his seat when she walked in with Ichigo. He sent a glare at Ichigo. He had to give it to Hinata; she had been avoiding him for the past three weeks. She was always with either Ichigo or one of Ichigo's friends. He hadn't been able to get her by herself, but he needed to talk to her. He watched as Hinata threw her arms around Ichigo's shoulders, dangling and laughing with his friends. He noticed the Inoue girl looking jealous from the side.

A smile grew on his face; he had a plan.

. . .

Hinata stretched, before putting her stuff back into her bag. It had been a long day at school, but she had learned a few things. She was getting up when Orihime appeared in front of her.

"Hinata! Do you want to come to my home economic club today?" She appeared nervous and a little awkward.

"I don't know, Orihime. I was going to walk home with Ichigo today." She looked back to where Ichigo was talking with Chad. They had been getting into a lot of fights due to their flashy entrance on the first day of school and she didn't want to leave them alone.

"Aww, but you never spend time with me!" She pleaded. "You are always with Ichigo or Tatsuki!"

Hinata smiled; Tatsuki wouldn't leave her alone and was always following her around. She had even kidnapped her once for karate practice. Laughing, she answered, "Tatsuki just wants me in the karate club, Orihime."

"We are making cookies today."

That caught Hinata's attention. "Can I have some?"

"Of course!" With that, Orihime grabbed Hinata's arm and started to drag her off. "I'm borrowing Hinata, Ichigo." Orihime called over her shoulder as they passed.

Hinata gave a cheerful wave over her shoulder to a surprised Ichigo.

The closer they got to the home economics club, the more it looked like Hinata was dragging Orihime as she skipped down the hall. Hinata was looking forward to some warm cookies.

What she didn't expect, and her excitement over the cookies hid, was the hand that shot out as soon as she crossed the threshold of the room, grabbing her arm in a vise like grip. Hinata followed the hand with her eyes to see Uyru, an evil grin on his face as he pushed up his glasses. She froze.

At that moment, Orihime let go of her hand and backed away. Hinata turned to Orihime, "Save me!"

Orihime couldn't quite meet her eyes. "Sorry Hinata, but Uryu wanted to talk to you. He said if I brought you here that Ichigo would be alone and I could talk to him. Sorry!" With that she turned and ran away. She appeared to be crying as she went, as if she felt bad about selling her friend out.

"Traitor!" Hinata called out after the retreating girl, shaking.

She felt the grip on her arm tighten and she turned around to once again face Uryu. He still had a smile of triumph on his face. Looking past him, she saw that the room was empty. They were alone.

"Now we can finally talk," Uryu said as he pushed up his glasses again. He walked her over to some chairs before letting go of her arm.

Hinata looked anywhere but at Uryu. He still made her instincts scream to run. "I just want to go back to Ichigo." She stood stubbornly, arms crossed, ignoring his subtle hints for her to sit down.

"I need you to answer my questions," he said, gesturing for her to sit down once again.

Still not looking at him, she sat down with a huff. "What do you want? Ichigo's waiting for me."

"Well, I wanted to talk about you. How long have you been in Karurkura? Why have I never met you?"

Her eyes slid over him before looking away. "I moved in about a year ago. I live with my uncles and cousins, but just started school this year. I was home schooled before this." She recited what Ichigo and Kiskue had said was her backstory. "As to why I've never met you? I don't know."

She shot a glance at him again. He seemed to be nodding as if this all made sense. "Have you ever trained your quincy powers?"

She sighed and fidgeted again. "I told you I don't know what quincies are." She was getting antsy. She didn't like being stuck in this chair talking to this boy. All she wanted to do was escape his too observant eyes. She had gotten better over the last three weeks, but she still didn't like being around him.

He gave an exasperated sigh as if he couldn't believe how stupid she was as he pushed up his glasses again. "I told you last time; quincies are people who kill Hollows."

She raised an eyebrow. "What are hollows? Are they those monsters that attack the spirits that I see?"

His eyes got wide. "Yes. How could you not know what a hollow is? Didn't your family teach you about them?"

She gave a small smile. "My family. . . is a little complicated."

Thankfully, he nodded and let it drop.

There was a pause before he spoke again. "I could train you if you like."

She looked quizzically at him. "Train me?"

He reached out to grab her hand, but she pulled away from his reach. "Yeah. You are a qunicy. From what you have said, you have never even heard about them, so you haven't been trained at all. The fact that you have been able to get rid of hollows at all is an amazing feat." There was admiration in his voice as he said this last part. "But I can train you to be able to kill them with a lot less force. What do you say? Can I train you?"

She finally met his eyes. "I already know how to fight."

"Yes," he said slowly, "but if I train you, I can help you control the powers that will make you stronger."

She thought about it for a while. He was saying that she could become stronger while in her gigai. If she wanted to protect Ichigo without him knowing, she would need to become stronger. Finally, she nodded.

Uryu's face lit up. "Great! We can practice after my club activities . . . if that works for you?"

She pouted at the thought of not being able to spend time with Ichigo, but this was to help protect him so she gave a nod.

Uryu grabbed both of her hands pulling her to her feet, making her flinch and lean back. "This is going to be great! There is so much to teach you!" With that he raced out of the room, dragging her behind him.

. . .

The rumor started when a passing student watched Uyru Ishida drag Hinata Kurosaki through the halls. There was no base to the rumor; occasionally they would be seen walking home together. As time passed, however, the time they spent together grew more and more frequent. On weekends, Hinata was often seen at the Ishida hospital. She was also seen wearing a matching neckless to his bracelet he always had on. It quickly became rumored that they were a couple. The only person in the school unaware of these rumors was Ichigo.


	15. Chapter 13 The New Student

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 13 The New Student

Hinata dug through her school bag to make sure everything was there before turning to give Ulquiorra a goodbye hug. He'd been awfully quiet lately when she would come home from school, but when she had asked what was wrong, he had just patted her head with a smile and told her to worry about her studies. She kissed his cheek and waved happily as she vanished through the garganta.

She was early to school today, so she skipped to class humming to herself. Tatsuki and Orihime were early too, as was Chizuro. After Ichigo had threatened her, Hinata had been careful to avoid the girl, keeping quiet every time Chizuro had attempted to jump her. Tatsuki was currently keeping Chizuro off of Orihime.

"Good morning!" Hinata said happily, bouncing over to them. They all welcomed her with bright smiles.

Before long, the class began to fill up. Hinata looked around for Ichigo, but he didn't seem to be in school today. Before class started she walked over to Chad, frowning, to ask if he knew where Ichigo was. Chad shook his head, wishing he could tell her differently. He didn't like it when her smile disappeared. Taking her seat, Hinata glanced over at Uryu, but she knew Uryu didn't care much for Ichigo. With a sigh, she put her arms on the desk and put her head down. Where was Ichigo?

"We have a new transfer student today," the teacher announced, causing Hinata to look up, curious.

There was a short, black haired girl standing at the front of the class, smiling as the teacher introduced her as Rukia Kuchiki. Hinata stared at the girl, a chill running down her spine. Uryu had also straightened up in his seat, but he was now cleaning his glasses with the edge of his shirt. Hinata sank back in her seat, feeling uneasy. She wished Ichigo was here.

. . .

Hinata tackled Ichigo when he finally made it to school in the middle of the day. He stumbled back as she flung herself at him, startled by her enthusiasm. "Where have you been?!" she cried, the concern obvious in her voice. He felt . . . different. Something had changed while she'd been in Hueco Mundo. She couldn't quite place what it was.

"Overslept," he said, pulling away from her.

"Good morning, Ichigo," a sing song voice greeted him, making both Hinata and Ichigo jump.

Hinata turned to glare at the new girl, Rukia, while Ichigo stared open-mouthed.

"You!" he said. "How are you . . . but you . . . I . . ."

"Can I talk to you for a moment please?"

Hinata stared as the new girl grabbed Ichigo's wrist and dragged him out of the classroom. She didn't like it, but she didn't understand why. She went as if to follow but Uryu blocked her and leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "Watch out for her."

Hinata stared at Uryu. "What?"

"Just . . . watch out for Rukia."

Hinata didn't see much of Ichigo for the rest of the day. While in class, Hinata kept fidgeting in her seat, trying to figure out why Ichigo felt different. Something about him seemed . . . stronger? No, Ichigo had always been strong. Something in his spiritual pressure had changed. And then there was Rukia. Rukia made her uncomfortable, especially after Uryu's warning. The girl had also been giving Hinata weird looks with a scrunched brow. Rukia had claimed the desk right next to Ichigo's, and Hinata didn't like how close she was.

As soon as the bell rang, Hinata jumped up and turned to talk to Ichigo, but found Rukia blocking her and telling Ichigo he needed to come with her. He shot Hinata an apologetic smile as Rukia once again dragged him out of the room.

Hinata's eyes began to fill with tears. She wanted to follow them, but she couldn't bring herself to do so as she fell to the floor, crying. Why was Ichigo ignoring her? As she cried, she felt several hands touch her. Uryu had his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently; Chad was patting her on the head; Orihime was kneeling in front of her, pulling her into a hug.

Tasuki grabbed her other shoulder, looking out the door and muttering, "I'll kill Ichigo."

She cried harder and clung to Orihime.

After several minutes, she had finally calmed down. When they felt that she would be okay, they walked to the corner and talked about what they could do to help her. It was several minutes before they walked back over. Orihime dropped to her knees again in front of Hinata, grabbing her hands. "Hinata, Tatsuki and I are having a sleep over this weekend and we wanted to know if you would come with us?"

Hinata sniffled. "What's a sleepover?"

Orihime smiled as she explained: "You and Tatsuki will come to my house and we will have dinner, watch a movie, play games, and stay up late before going to sleep at my house!"

Hinata looked up. "That sounds like fun. I'd like to come."

Orihime hugged her and cheerfully chirped about all they would do and the fun that they would have.

. . .

The rest of the week passed in a blur; Rukia was taking all of Ichigo's time. They would vanish during school sometimes, and after school he would vanish again. Hinata became quiet. All of her friends were worried about her, and Ulquiorra was concerned as well. Her inner world was midnight black with just a sliver of a moon shining. When she visited, she would hug and cry on Masaki's shoulder.

A couple times it looked like Ichigo was coming over to talk to her, just to be dragged off by Rukia. Keigo had been smashed through the wall by Tatsuki when he had made a comment about Rukia being Ichigo's girlfriend. Tatsuki had even attacked Ichigo on multiple occasions and yelled at him for being an idiot.

The only thing that kept Hinata moving through the rest of the week was the sleepover that was coming up. She had told Kiskue about it and he had given her a bunny onesie that he told her she would need to sleep in.

She had her overnight bag packed. She gave a small smile. She had told Ulquiorra that she wouldn't be coming home tonight. He had been worried, but had said that it would be okay.

. . .

Hinata knocked on Orihime's apartment door, shifting her wait from foot to foot. She was excited, but nervous at the same time. She heard Orihime call from inside, and a moment later the door opened. Hinata found herself on the receiving end of a bone-crushing hug for once; it was nice. Hinata locked her arms around Orihime and just appreciated the feeling of being hugged. It had been a hard week.

Once inside, Orihime started babbling again about the activities she had planned and what dinner would be. Tatsuki was already sitting on a cushion in the main room. She greeted Hinata with a smile and asked Orihime if she needed help cooking, but Orihime just waved and said she would be fine. Tatsuki had a concerned expression on her face that Hinata didn't understand. Moments later, however, Tatsuki had begun asking Hinata about karate again and demonstrated some of the new moves she had been learning.

Before long, Orihime brought dinner out, a look of pride on her face. Tatsuki excused herself and went to grab a bowl that her mom had sent with her. The concerned expression had returned to Tatsuki's face, but Hinata was distracted by the wonderful smells filling her nose. "What did you make?" she asked, a little bit of excitement returning to her eyes.

Orihime smiled. "I made a strawberry rhubarb stir fry with beef and bean paste. I made some rice balls too!"

Tatsuki coughed and pulled the cover off the bowl she had fetched. "My mom sent some ramen she thought we might like."

"Oooh!" Orihime said, her eyes growing wide.

Hinata bit into the food Orihime gave her, taking a moment to savor it. Tatsuki made another coughing sound, but was eating every bite on her plate. "This is really good, Orihime!" Hinata said happily.

Tatsuki's eyes went wide but she remained focused on her own food.

The night was full of fun and new things. It was getting late when Hinata left the room to go and put on her bunny onesie. She happily pulled it on, enjoying how soft it was, when she felt a subtle change in spiritual pressure. She had noticed since she had arrived that something was watching them, but it had always stayed just far enough away that Hinata wasn't able to pin it down. There began to be crashing sounds from outside the door and she heard Orihime and Tatsuki's talking stop. Then it was quite.

It was then that Hinata felt the appearance of a hollow, followed by Tatsuki calling Orihime's name, scared. Pulling up the zipper, Hinata ran from the bathroom to see Orihime's spirit floating over her body, looking confused. She barely had time to dodge as an arm came swinging towards her. Tatsuki was across the room, bleeding, and looked like she had been tossed around.

"Hinata," she yelled, "there is something here! But I don't see anything."

As soon as she spoke, the hollow turned back to her. Faster than Hinata was able to stop it, the hollow grabbed Tatsuki and slammed her to the ground. Hinata screamed, running towards it. Orihime did the same, knocking the hollow away from Tatsuki, but not before she passed out. Jumping on its back, Hinata put it in a head lock like Ichigo had taught her to. She frantically tried to think of what else she could do. Orihime was shaking, holding onto Tatsuki. Hinata needed to get rid of the hollow, but she also needed to protect her friends. She would have to let it go to use her Quincy powers, and in that time it might eat Orihime!

At that moment Orihime looked up and saw her. "Hinata!" she yelled.

Hinata gave her a smile before the hollow jumped back, smashing her into the wall. She felt herself coughing up blood, but she didn't let go. It gave a roar. Orihime was yelling! Hinata couldn't let go. It smashed her several times before she felt her arms finally give way and she sled down its back. It grabbed her and threw her across the room. Then it went over to Orihime and seemed to be talking to her. Hinata couldn't get up; she tried to stand, but her leg wouldn't work. She was trying to summon her bow when she felt a familiar spiritual pressure approaching fast. As soon as she knew it was Ichigo, her bow collapsed. Hinata slumped once again, falling to the ground.

Hinata watched through half open eyes as Ichigo appeared. She was shocked when she saw him in the black robs of a Shinigami. But . . . but Ichigo couldn't be a Shinigami! All she could do was watch from the sidelines as he fought. When he was thrown out of the window and the hollow grabbed Orihime, Hinata tried to get up again, but her leg collapsed beneath her. She could feel the short girl, Rukia, outside by Ichigo. Hinata was forced to watch to the very end. When they went outside again, she dragged herself to the hole in the wall so that she could watch. She watched helplessly when Orihime sacrificed herself to protect Ichigo. She watched all the way until the end when the hollow, who was Orihime's deceased older brother, grabbed Ichigo's sword, killing himself.

Hinata fell to the ground and closed her eyes when they came back up to the apartment. She felt tears of frustration fall as she realized just how useless she had been. She would become stronger, strong enough that she would be able to protect her friends. As she lay there, she felt a slight change in spiritual pressure as they put Orihime back into her body.

Rukia seemed to be telling Ichigo about how she would replace everyone's memory so that none of the girls would remember what had happened. Then, all of a sudden, there was a high pitched squeal followed by Hinata being smashed in a bone crushing hug and someone rubbing their face against the side of her head. "Chappy!" Rukia squealed.

"Hey!" Hinata heard Ichigo yell as he ran towards them.

Hinata's face contorted in pain from Rukia's assault. Then all of a sudden, the bone crushing hug was gone and Hinata was being picked up with care. She heard Ichigo hiss, "Part of the deal was that you leave her alone, Rukia."

Rukia mumbled something Hinata couldn't hear. Her body really hurt.

"I think she has been badly hurt. Can you help her, Rukia?" Ichigo asked, concerned.

Hinata was then covered in a warm blue light before all went black.

. . .

The next day at school was an adventure. When they woke up the next morning, they were all tucked into bed, but there was a huge hole in the wall. Neither Tatsuki nor Orihime remembered what actually happened. Orihime went around telling everyone it had been a sumo wrestler with a gun who blasted a hole into her wall. No one believed her even though she insisted that it was true.

Hinata, on the other hand, was faced with a whole new problem. Ruika seemed to have a whole new interest in her. She followed her around and always looked like she was thinking, trying to place her. She had also taken to chasing Hinata around the school with a pair of bunny ears, begging her to put them on, with Ichigo chasing behind and yelling at Rukia to leave Hinata alone.

It was just a normal day at school.


	16. Chapter 14 The Cursed Parakeet

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 14 The Cursed Parakeet

Ulquiorra had become antsy lately. Even before her stay at Orihime's house, he had been acting secretive. He never left her side when she was in Hueco Mundo, but she felt that when she was gone, he would run off. She had asked him about it, but he always brushed it off or changed the topic. Once, he had even started a game of chase with her when she refused to drop it.

Now she sat on the roof of their cave watching him. She thought he wouldn't let her go back after the sleepover at Orihime's, and so was shocked when he had told her it was safer for her in the world of the living than it was for her to linger in Hueco Mundo. He wouldn't say more so, she had taken to observing his spiritual pressure when she was at school. It always seemed to be tense and on guard, a couple of times she could almost feel another's spiritual pressure mixing with his, but she could never grab it and didn't recognize it. She gave a sigh before hopping down giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading off to school.

. . .

When Hinata got to class she was surprised that she had beaten Uryu and Chad. Uryu was always early and waiting for her to see if she had been practicing, and Chad was always at his desk and would send her a smile. She could sense Uryu on the first floor like he had just gotten to school, but she couldn't sense Chad anywhere near the school.

As all her friend trickled into the classroom, she felt her uneasiness grow. Chad still wasn't there when the bell rang.

. . .

For lunch Hinata, Ichigo and Rukia all went to the roof. Hinata took up her customary spot on the railing just looking out over all the trees and grass. She could never get enough of the color green. Uryu had told Hinata long ago when she had invited him to join them that he couldn't stand Ichigo and would never have lunch with him. She still invited him on occasion, but he always said no. Tatsuki and Orihime had decided to have lunch with the other girls in their class and had invited Hinata, but she turned them down because her time with Ichigo had become short since Rukia had shown up, and she would rather spend her time with him.

She was still worried about Chad, but there was nothing she could do while she was at school.

So here they were on the roof with Hinata looking out over the lawn with Ichigo with Rukia on her other side facing in towards the school. They were talking to Mizuro and Ichigo was warning Rukia to stay away from him. Hinata watched out of the corner of her eye as Rukia tried to figure out how to get juice out of her juice box. Ichigo had brushed off Rukia's earlier question, telling her to stick the straw into the box. Keigo had come up then, but Hinata tuned him out as she watched Rukia continue with her struggle. Hinata had just moved over to show Ruika how to use her straw when Keigo yelled.

Hinata looked up to see a tall boy with bleached hair who appeared to have kicked Keigo.

"Yo Kurosaki." The bleach-haired boy said.

"O…Ooshima!" Kegio almost seemed to be shaking, "They lifted your suspension. . ."

"I'm not talking to you," Ooshima said as he pushed Keigo out of the way. "Hey, Kurosaki, when are you gonna dye your hair? With that bleached hair and drooping eyes, you're copying me."

Ichigo was about to say something when a sing song voice caught all of their attention: "It's not dyed, silly. His hair is naturally that color." As Hinata spoke, she also threw her bright orange hair over her shoulder. "Also, why would he copy you? Ichigo is too cool for that." She looked away from the bigger boy and went back to showing Rukia where to push the straw in.

Ooshima glared in the direction of the voice, but stopped when he saw who was speaking. It was a beautiful, tall girl. She had even bleached her hair to match his! He was so focused on her body that he didn't even hear what she said. "Hey, Baby!" He sauntered towards the unknown girl. "I see you dyed your hair to impress me."

No one present expected this turn of events. Hinata didn't seem to be paying attention as he walked over towards her. Rukia gave a shout of joy as she got her straw into her box. Hinata clapped as well, smiling. Ooshima seemed to realize at this moment that she was ignoring him. He reached out to grab her arm when all of a sudden a hand descended on his shoulder. Turning, he found himself face to face with Ichigo.

There was a deadly glare in his eyes. "Don't touch her."

Ooshima gave a smile. "That's more like it."

At that moment, Keigo jumped between them, trying to stop the fight. Hinata had turned in time to see Ichigo grab Ooshima. She watched with curiosity as Ichigo kept threatening Ooshima and Ooshima kept taunting back. Eventually, Ooshima jumped back, "Heh, as I thought. I knew that one day I'd have to settle things with you for good. This is perfect! Right here, right now I'm gonna kick your arse!"

Hinata who had moved to stand by Ichigo looked at him. "What's an arse?"

Ichigo chocked back a laugh. "It's better if you don't know."

Ooshima gave a growl. "Stop talking to my wo . . .man . . .?"

Hinata clapped as Ooshima flew through the air. While everyone else was watching the flying man, Hinata ran over to the man who had thrown Ooshima.

"Chad!" She crashed into him, giving him a big hug. He patted her on the head. When she pulled back she saw that he had bandages wrapped around his head. She reached up and tenderly touched his head. "What happened?"

"My head… from yesterday . . . steel beam fell from above."

Hinata's eyes went big; she grabbed his arm and took him over to the edge of the roof and made him sit down. "You need to be careful," she chided him. It was then that she saw what he was holding in his hand. When she had felt Chad coming up the stairs, she had noticed that he had a friend with him, but now she saw that the friend was a bird.

"Hello, my name is Shibata Yuuichi! What is your name?"

"Oh, I'm Hinata Kurosaki, nice to meet you Yuuichi. Why are you in the body of a bird? Are you like Aunt Kitty?"

"It's a Parakeet. They can talk like humans. Who is Aunt Kitty?" Chad answered back.

Everyone was still shocked by what had just happened. They watched as Hinata and Chad talked. Chad was talking! He was talking more than anyone had ever heard him talk in his whole life! Hinata kept happily talking back to him, but she kept glancing at the parakeet also. It was definitely a person.

When Chad started "talking" to Ichigo, Hinata looked down at Yuuichi and in a whisper asked, "Why are you in a bird's body, Yuuichi?" The bird's eyes widened. "You are like Aunt Kitty, but it feels more like you are stuck. And your sadness is so strong I could feel it before Chad came onto the school grounds."

Yuuichi hopped off his perch and backed away to the far side of the cage. She reached out to touch him when he gave a loud cry. In a moment, Chad was back at his side.

Hinata looked up and smiled at Chad's concerned face. "I don't think he likes me," she said sadly.

Chad patted her head. "Yuuichi, you need to be nice to Hinata. She is a nice person." The bird gave a tentative nod and hopped back onto its swing. "Go ahead, Hinata," Chad said, giving an encouraging smile. She reached in and gave Yuuichi a stroke.

"He's so soft!" As she stroked him she could better feel his spiritual pressure. She felt a frown start to form on her face when the bell rang. As everyone was standing up to go back to class, she bent down and whispered, "It's okay, I will help save you." With that she jumped up and grabbed the cage before Chad could. "Can I carry him?" Chad gave a grunt and a nod. Smiling, Hinata walked down the stairs with Chad right behind her.

Ichigo watched her leave with Chad. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about this. Rukia said it was nothing but a lonely spirit, but something didn't feel right with the spirit inside the parakeet.

. . .

After school, Hinata ran over to Chad's desk. "Can I spend the rest of today with you?"

Chad looked shocked and looked over her shoulder at Uruyu, who seemed to be shocked as well. "Is Uruyu okay with that?

She tilted her head. "He said I only had to go with him on days I have time, and today I want to spend it with you and Yuuichi!"

He gave one last look at Uryu who shrugged back at him, grabbed his bag, and left. Looking back down at Hinata, who was smiling expectantly, Chad grunted, "That's fine."

Hinata jumped for joy and grabbed Yuuichi's cage and started talking. Chad gave a smile and patted her head again as they walked. He liked this strange girl who was a lot like Ichigo.

She had told him she didn't have anywhere to go and just wanted to spend some time with him, so they began walking around town. He noticed that they were getting closer to Ichigo's place the longer they walked. What happened next was so fast it was hard to explain.

Hinata's eyes got big and she yelled while Yuuichi gave a cry of despair and Chad felt a killer intent. He acted on instinct, pushing Hinata who was holding the cage. Her eyes got big as he pushed her away and she yelled again. It was then that he felt the collision. Then it all went black. When his eyes opened again Hinata was kneeing beside him, crying while still holding onto Yuuichi's cage. He heard screaming from all around. Then it went black.

. . .

Hinata had seen the hollow appear and when she had tried to warn Chad he had pushed her out of the way with a small smile on his face. The hollow had appeared, slamming a hand into Chad's back before vanishing again. She was still sitting over him and crying when Ichigo's sisters came upon the scene. When Chad had been attacked, several other cars had crashed to avoid hitting Chad. The girls started grabbing people and where carrying them back to Ichigo's family clinic. Hinata grabbed Chad and started dragging him towards the clinic. She was frustrated with her gigai and how hard it was for her to move Chad. He needed help!

Hinata heard a gasp and turned to see Karin, Ichigo's sister. Her eyes were wide. As Karin had gotten older, she had seen Hinata a couple of times, but she knew she was a ghost because no one else saw Hinata. Yet here she was, dragging a large man. She sent her one more look before running and grabbing Yuzu to go and help the girl dragging the large man.

With Yuzu's help they were able to get Chad to the door before Hinata collapsed outside. Yuzu called to her, asking if she was okay.

"I'm fine, just tired. Help me." Hinata waved her forward.

Hinata heard the yelling and excitement as Yuzu called for help. Ichigo's dad was calling for him. Hinata gave a small smile. Now that she thought of it, she had never seen Ichigo's dad's face before. As she leaned to look around the corner, she found his back to her once again. As she lay there, she looked down at Yuuichi, who seemed to be crying. She needed to get him away to safety. She looked back inside one more time to see Ichigo and his dad carrying Chad down the hall. She was long gone by the time Yuzu declared that there was another girl outside the door who needed help, but by the time they got outside, the girl was gone.

. . .

Hinata had gone to Uncle Kisuke first to see if he could help, but he had been unable to. He said the spirit would have to leave the parakeet before he could do anything. He had offered to take it off her hands, but Hinata saw a glint in his eyes that she didn't like, so she said she would keep him for the night.

Since then, she had wandered the streets aimlessly, just staying on the move because Yuuichi thought it would help her avoid the hollow. He had told her his story, and she promised that she would help him get rid of the hollow. He told her to leave him, that it would be fine, but she refused to.

Chad found her about two hours before dawn. He was panicked when he found her. He grabbed her face and turned it from side to side to make sure she was okay. He gave a sigh of relief. "Ichigo would never forgive me if you got hurt."

Hinata smiled. "It's okay. I've been keeping Yuuichi safe." She held the parakeet up for him to see.

He gave a smile. "Yeah, you did."

He tried to have her give him Yuuichi, telling her that she should go home or go to school, but she refused. When he told her it wasn't safe, she just looked at him with her big brown eyes and he couldn't send her away. Thus they found themselves in an abandoned warehouse instead of at school.

. . .

Ichigo had awoken that morning to his father telling him that Chad had gone missing in the night. Ichigo had run to school and grabbed Mizuro, demanding to know where Chad was. They told him he hadn't come and that he was late.

Ichigo was getting ready to run out when Keigo spoke up. "You know what's weird is the fact that Chad and Hinata are both missing. You don't think they are together! Is she two timing Ishida?"

Ichigo only caught the first half of what Keigo said. Hinata was also missing! She had been with Chad yesterday. Now that he thought about it, Yuzu had said that a girl had brought Chad to the clinic and she was carrying a bird. Turning white as a sheet, Ichigo turned and ran out of the classroom, not even listening to what the others said. He had to find them and save them!

. . .

Hinata looked at Chad. He seemed tired. From what Yuuichi had told her, Chad had been attacked close to ten times when he had been carrying Yuuichi. When she had asked if he was okay, all he had said was that he was tough.

She felt the hollow appear. "Move!" she yelled as she jumped out of the way of its swing before it vanished again. She sighed in frustration; it never stayed long enough for her to kill it. It would appear for but a moment before jumping back into Hueco Mundo.

They ran again. Hinata held Yuuichi close to her chest. As they rounded a corner, she heard Ichigos voice yell out their names. She turned in time to see his face along with Rukia's beside him. When she moved to go towards them, Chad grabbed her arm and pulled her the opposite way. "We can't involve them," he said simply.

As they ran, Hinata noticed that Ichigo had stopped following her and was running the other way, but Ruika was right behind them. Hinata felt a chill climb her spine when the hollow appeared again, and with it Rukia stopped chasing them. She looked down to see Yuuichi crying and shivering. She looked at Chad and held out Yuuichi's cage to him and asked, "Chad can you take him?"

He gave a nod and grabbed the cage. The moment it was in his hand, Hinata stopped, turned and ran back the way that they had come. "Hinata!" he yelled at her, skidding to a stop. He went to turn to follow her, but looked down at Yuuichi first. He had promised to help Yuuichi to save his mom, but he had also promised Ichigo that he would protect what was important to him. He heard a sound like an explosion behind him. He gently placed Yuuichi on the ground. "You stay here; I'm going to help."

Yuuichi cried out for him not to go, but all Chad did was put him up on the wall before running after Hinata.

Hinata got there in time to see Rukia throw Kido at the hollow, but it didn't do any damage. Hinata couldn't watch as it attacked Rukia. She had to do something, but she couldn't let Rukia know that it was her. She had pulled out her bow when Chad arrived. She timed her arrow to hit it when Chad did, but to hide the arrow from Rukia, the angle was wrong. However, her arrow combined with Chad's punch threw the hollow all the way down the street. She mumbled under her breath, "How dare you hurt my friends!" She got another shot out and the hollow was visibly shaken, thinking all the damage was coming from Chad. Hinata gave a smile.

When the hollow took to the sky, she glared up at it, but gave a smile when Chad hit it out of the sky with a power pole. She felt when the hollow summoned its minions and her eyes narrowed again. She needed to end this now before it got worse. She could feel that Ichigo was on his way, but he wouldn't make it in time.

The minions jumped on Chad and Rukia, pinning them to the ground. As soon as the hollow started talking about eating them, Hinata lost it. Her spiritual pressure rose, causing the hollow to fall to its knees. Rukia let out a gasp of surprise. Chad looked around confused, before forcing himself to his feet, throwing off the hollow's minions with a load roar. She cracked a smile. She left her gigai, walking up behind Rukia and knocking her out, before facing the hollow which was shaking.

"You chose the wrong people to attack!" Her voice was low taking on aspects of her hollow nature.

Its eyes went wide. "It can't be! You. . ."

She didn't let it finish as she quickly swung Nikko down, silencing the hollow. She watched it cry and beg for mercy as it was pulled back into giant doors that had appeared. Once its cries had stopped and the door vanished, she lowered her spiritual pressure. When Hinata turned around, she found Chad was by Rukia's side, holding her wrist and giving a sigh of relief by what he found.

She walked over and gently touched his arm. His eyes went wide. Even though she knew he couldn't hear her she whispered, "Thank you!" With that, she walked back to her gigai. Chad must have heard rustling in the bushes because he ran over, beating her to her gigai.

"Hinata!" He cried picking her up, but when she didn't wake up, he panicked. She watched Chad carry her over to put her beside Rukia who was still out. She just watched for a few minutes, confused as she watched Chad grab her wrist for a minute before he began to push on her chest with a desperate look in his eyes. She tilted her head.

She then heard footsteps approaching. Lifting her head she saw Ichigo round the corner. There was a look of determination on his face, but he skidded to a halt when he saw the scene before him.

Hinata was waving cheerfully at him; signs of a battle were ever where; Rukia was laying on her back, and Chad was desperately preforming CPR on another figure. Ichigo ran to Chad's side, asking him what had happened. Chad seemed to be crying as he told Ichigo he was sorry. Ichigo looked down to see the body he was preforming CPR on was Hinata's. Surprised, he looked back at her before looking at the body in front of him again. He stood. "I'll be back."

He walked over to Hinata and whispered to her, "What are you doing?"

"I was protecting them."

His eyes got wide. "You can't! What if you got hurt or where killed?!"

She looked up at him with big eyes. "It's okay. I won't get hurt."

"What if Rukia saw you!"

"Don't worry, she didn't see me!"

All he could do was shake his head. "You should get back in your body. Chad thinks you're dead."

Hinata's eyes got big this time as she ran to her gigai, jumping back in. She found it uncomfortable and coughed as she sat up. Chad gave a cry before grabbing her in a hug. "You're okay!" He cried over and over again.

When Rukia finally woke up, she found three faces looking down at her with concern. She couldn't remember anything other than a moment of pain behind her head before she had passed out.

. . .

When Hinata went home that night she was met with an Ulquiorra who was angry that she hadn't come back last night, and because he had felt her spiritual pressure rise all the way from Hueco Mundo. Hinata was so happy to see him though that she just jumped at him, giving him a great big hug. For the first time ever, he didn't return her hug.


	17. Chapter 15 The Imposter

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 15 The Imposter

Hinata snuck out of the cave. Ulquiorra had been so mad that she wasn't sure if he would let her go to school today. With one last look behind her showing that Ulquiorra was still asleep, she gave a small bow like Orihime does. "I'm sorry," she whispered before jumping through the garganta.

. . .

When she got to school, she was happy to see that Chad still had the parakeet. Keigo was playing with it. Hinata was talking to Uryu about her Quincy powers that she had been working on after Ulquiorra had fallen asleep, when Ichigo walked in. Smiling, Hinata bounced over to him, giving him a hug. "Morning, Ichigo!"

He smiled patting her head before looking past her at the parakeet. Rukia came in shortly after and dragged Ichigo off again.

Hinata sighed. "It's not fair that Rukia gets to spend so much time with Ichigo."

Chad patted her head, smiling. "It's ok."

Hinata gave a small smile to Chad and gave him a hug. "Thanks."

She went back to talking to Uryu. It wasn't long after she began to talk that she felt the change. Ichigo had left his body, but something was moving it. She walked over to the window.

Tatsuki and Orihime had started to eat lunch and Chizuro was being a pervert again. Hinata was looking out the window when Orihime ran over and went to jump out the window. Hinata and Tatsuki both grabbed her, pulling her back in.

"I smelled Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime yelled, still trying to climb out the window.

"'Smelled?' What are you, a dog? Plus, this is the third floor. Even if you smelled him, he couldn't come through. . ." Tatsuki's yell was cut off as Ichigo appeared outside the window.

"This is class 1-3, isn't it?" Ichigo asked.

The whole class screamed as he walked in through the window. Hinata felt her eyes narrow. This wasn't her brother.

"Youuuuuu! How'd you get up here!?" Tatsuki yelled while pointing at the imposter.

"How? Didn't you see it? I jumped. You surprised?" The imposter replied.

With that, the whole class went into turmoil talking about how it wasn't possible. It was Ichigo, but three floors?

He was looking around the room as if looking for something, but he never looked behind him to see Hinata standing there. She was reaching out a hand to grab him when he jumped, landing in front of Orihime.

Hinata couldn't hear what he was saying, but everyone seemed to be freaking out. Tatsuki was pulling him off of Orihime when Hinata showed up. His eyes went big. "Why, you are so beautiful, my lady. Please allow me to know your name." He had easily slipped out of Tatsuki's grasp and grabbed some of Hinata's hair, kissing it.

Hinata's eyes narrowed more. She was about to grab his arm when a loud bang was heard. Uryuu had slammed his book onto his desk. "How dare you, Kuroksai! I'm sick and. . ." He didn't have a chance to say anything else because Rukia suddenly threw open the door.

"That's enough!" Rukia yelled.

Hinata had just about had him when all of a sudden her feet where swept out from beneath her and she was in the imposter's arms. He took off towards the windows and Hinata gave a yelp of surprise. There was a collective gasp from the students.

"There he goes, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled as Ichigo in his spirit from appeared outside the window.

Hinata gave a cry of joy as she reached out towards him, "Ichigo!"

"Now there's nowhere to. . ." Ichigo started to say but the imposter merely squished past Ichigo and jumped out the window.

Hinata have a yell. She struggled to get free, but the imposter just held her tighter. "Don't move too much baby, or I might accidently drop you." As soon as they hit the ground, she tried again, but found that the imposter was stronger than she was in her gigi.

As it was, they spent well over an hour running through the streets. Ichigo and Rukia ran behind them, but the imposter was so fast that they were falling behind. Hinata was mad. This person had stolen Ichigo's body! She was trying to decide the best way to get rid of him when all of a sudden, he stopped. Startled, she looked up at him to see that he was looking at something below them.

Hinata looked down to see a group of three boys sitting together.

A boy with glasses was the first to speak, "Gym class sucks. I hate it."

A larger boy replied, "You kick the ball wrong and Kurosaki gets on your case."

Kurosaki? Hinata thought, looking around as she realized that they were at Ichigo's old school; they must be talking about his sisters.

The last boy had freckles sprinkled across his face. "You're talking about Karin, right? She's such a bitch!"

Hinata glared at the boy. How dear he call Ichigo's sister a bad name!

Glasses kid spoke again, "Ah! Damn it, he lost again."

His friends chuckled before freckles spoke, "Why don't you delete him?"

"Can't you even fight? Who do you think created you?" Glasses kid glared at the strange box in his hands. "Those that don't listen to their master die! BAM!"

The larger boy said smiling, "Oh, he really erased him."

"So what? I'll create a better one!"

The group broke out in laughter.

Hinata looked back up at the imposter to find that he was shaking. His eyes had gotten big as well. It was then that she felt that the imposter was scared and feared being alone. She hadn't noticed before because of her anger, but he needed help as well.

Hinata gave a gasp as the imposter jumped down, holding her in one arm as he grabbed the strange boxes from the boys breaking them. He snarled at them before jumping back up on the roofs and running again.

"Damn it. . . those kids. . . doing such horrible things. My great mood's ruined. Damn!"

He froze and turned around at the same time Hinata sensed a hollow appear. She knew it had appeared where they had just been. She also felt that he knew that as well. Hinata found herself raising her hand to his face, gently touching it. He jerked and looked down at her. She smiled and nodded back to the way they had come. He gave a sad smile back. He placed her on the roof top. "Sorry," was all he said before he took off running.

Hinata stood there for a moment before smiling and decided to use Hirenyaku. Masaki had told her about it and she wanted to see if it worked. She arrived in time to see the imposter grab the three boys and pull them out of the way of a centipede hollow. She pulled back her quincy bow and fired.

The imposter looked up after yelling at the boys to run. He had been injured by the hollow. Hinata felt her anger flair. She fired again, but the hollow dodged. A dangerous dance began. The imposter was trying his best to keep the hollow away from her, while she was doing her best to keep Ichigo's body and the imposter safe. They were standing back to back when she felt Ichigo approach. Right behind him was Rukia's spiritual pressure as well. She looked at the imposter. "Sorry." He gave her a puzzled looked before her body went limp and she crashed to the ground.

The imposter was stilling looking at her as the hollow began taunting them. It went in for an attack just as Ichigo appeared, cutting it. Hinata had to try hard not to smile as the imposter and Ichigo fought. When Ichigo randomly swung his sword and hit the hollow, she was sure a giggle escaped her throat. The imposter looked down at her as if he had heard, but Ichigo kept yelling at him. The imposter's glance caused Ichigo to look over though, and a growl left his throat. "You are fighting a hollow with her here. What is wrong with you!" They began to fight again.

The hollow, who was annoyed that no one was paying attention to it, went in for the kill, but both Ichigo and the imposter attacked it and killed the hollow. Hinata watched in wonder as the imposter suddenly jumped over, kicking the hollow into the air as he noticed the train of ants that the hollow would have killed. She listened as the imposter said that he would never hurt or let anything get killed. She truly liked the imposter.

She wasn't surprised when Uncle Kisuke showed up. She had felt him, Uncle Tessai and her cousins approaching for a while now. She watched as Uncle Kisuke held up his cane and hit Ichigo's body in the head. He had used that cane on her for the first couple of times he took her out of her gigai to teach her how it worked. When she saw a small pearl like object fly out of Ichigo's head, she knew that it must be the soul of the imposter. Using Hirenyaku she grabbed it, replacing it with a white marble she had found on the ground when she had gone to school this morning. Just as quickly she was back on the ground like she had never moved in the first place. She felt the soul give a cry of surprise at having been saved.

Uncle Kisuke grabbed the marble out of the air. "Well, mission complete. Let's go home, guys!"

Hinata smiled as Jinta yelled about how unfair the whole thing was. They hadn't seemed to notice her yet. She held the soul in her hand close to her. When she heard Uncle Kisuke tell Ichigo that he was going to dispose of the soul, she held it even closer. She wouldn't let anyone harm it, even Uncle Kisuke. The soul hummed it's thanks to her.

It was then that Rukia appeared, snatching the marble out of the air from Uncle Kisuke. When Uncle Kisuke tried to take it back, Rukia was able to fight him back with her words and in the end was able to keep the small white marble. Rukia handed it to Ichigo before slowly walking away.

Hinata decided it was a good time to get up. She slowly rose and looked around blankly. "Where am I?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

There where gasps of surprise as everyone on the roof top looked towards her. Uncle Kisuke and Tessai grabbed Ururu and Jinta, covering their mouths to prevent them from saying anything. Hinata tilted her head to the side and looked at them. "Why, who do we have here?" Kisuke asked.

Ichigo and Rukia both glanced at Hinata. "That's my cousin. _He_ kidnapped her," Ichigo said, referring to the imposter and moving to stand in front of Hinata.

"Oh? Well what a lovely girl! Are you okay, my dear?"

Hinata smiled, "Yep! I was just kidnapped, and then there was a scary monster, and I feel asleep!" She beamed with pride.

"A monster? You saw a monster, Hinata?" Rukia was suddenly in Hinata's face, looking her up and down.

"Yep! He's over there." She pointed to were Ichigo's body was. "He could jump really high, and he grabbed me when I wasn't paying attention!"

Rukia gave a small smile and backed up. "That must have been scary. Shall we go back to school together?"

"Well, as I said, mission accomplished!" Kisuke said brightly. "It was nice to meet you, Miss. It is time for us to be going!"

Hinata had watched her Uncles carry her cousins away. Ichigo was still standing in front of her, watching them leave. When Rukia looked to see what she was looking at, Uncle Kiskue gave a salute and then took off running with Ururu over his shoulder. Uncle Tessai was close behind.

Hinata giggled, "They are so silly!"

Rukia raised an eyebrow at their antics before looking back at Hinata. "Well, shall we go?"

Hinata grabbed Rukia's outstretched hand and they started back to school.

As they walked she could feel the soul humming in happiness. She felt a frown growing on her face. He needed a body, but where would she be able to find one?

"Hey!"

Hinata smiled and turned around as Ichigo came running towards them.

"Why did you leave me?"

Rukia went to kick him in the face, but Hinata grabbed her shoulders and held her in place. "Hey!" she yelled.

"Ichigo, you're back!" Hinata said, letting go of Rukia and giving Ichigo a big hug.

He gave her a pat on the back, "You okay Rukia?"

Hinata turned back to see Rukia had fallen over backwards and was looking with shock up at her.

"Whoops! Sorry Rukia." Hinata jumped off Ichigo and went to help Rukia up. As she was pulling her up though, Hinata saw a little orange and gold lion behind her. She dropped Rukia, who gave a cry as she walked over to the lion. She gave a smile this would be the perfect body for the soul.


	18. Chapter 16 A Very Bad Birthday

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 16 A Very Bad Birthday

Hinata skipped to Ichigo's house. She had left Hueco Mundo early so that she could walk to school with him today and so that she could say hello to Kuon. Ichigo had named him after they'd put him inside the stuffed lion. Hinata didn't care what he was called, just that he was safe. Ichigo couldn't stand the modsoul, but had agreed to keep an eye on the mischievous stuffed toy because Hinata had begged him to.

Hinata hummed to herself as she approached Ichigo's house. She could hear Ichigo arguing with Kuon as she rounded the corner to his window and smiled. Climbing up to his window sill, she listened as they argued.

"My sweet Rukia, protect me!" Kuon wailed

"Don't you dare!" Ichigo hissed, snatching the stuffed lion off the ground before he could reach Rukia.

Hinata frowned. Why was Rukia in Ichigo's bedroom?

Ichigo was still upset. "I'm sick of this, Kuon! Behave yourself or I'll pull out all of your stuffing!"

Kuon gasped. "You wouldn't! Not this beautiful body of mine!"

Ichigo threw Kuon across the room. "I don't have time for this." He turned and spotted Hinata on the window sill. His expression softened, but only slightly.

"Well, I'm headed off to school," Rukia said, heading towards the window. She hadn't seen Hinata yet.

Hinata quickly climbed back to the ground and greeted Rukia when she climbed out Ichigo's window. She didn't understand why Rukia was with Ichigo so early in the morning, but she didn't want to ask Ichigo about it until Rukia was gone. Rukia greeted her with a smile and was gone.

Ichigo soon joined her in the street, still looking unhappy.

"What's the matter, Ichigo?" she asked, taking his hand.

He looked at her sadly. "Umm . . . Hinata. I know it's your birthday tomorrow, but . . . I want to be alone with my family tomorrow. I'll give you your present today, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to come with me this time."

"Ok," Hinata said, concerned. "That's alright with me. I don't like it when you're sad though."

He gave a weak smile. "I'll be alright."

Once at school, Ichigo was unusually nice to everyone, including Keigo. Hinata watched him, concerned, but decided to give him his space today. On their way home, he gave her a quick hug and her present before vanishing inside with his family.

. . .

Hinata hummed to herself while at school the next day. Ichigo was skipping school as he usually did on this day. To make up for his absence though, he had told all of their friends that it was her birthday. Orihime surprised her with a homemade cake. Chad had brought her some white and yellow daisies. Tatsuki gave her karate hand wraps after making her promise to practice sparring with her later that day. Keigo acted as if he was hiding a gift behind his back, but then leaned forward in an attempt to kiss her because Ichigo wasn't around to stop him. Before she knew what was happening, Tatsuki and Chad had both grabbed Keigo from behind and dragged him across the room with Tatsuki yelling at him.

Uryu slid a small, thin wrapped box wrapped with a ribbon into her hands while everyone's attention was still on Tatsuki and Keigo. Hinata excitedly opened the small box to find shiny silver chopsticks that had beautifully crafted flowers at the ends. She immediately pulled her long orange hair into a bun with the chopsticks. Uryu smiled as he watched her adjust his gift, turning her head so she could catch her reflection in the window to see how they looked. Hinata didn't hear the whispers coming from the students that had witnessed the exchange.

"So pretty!" Orihime said, gently touching the chopsticks in Hinata's hair. Behind her back, Uryu smirked.

. . .

Hinata carefully put her notes away, admiring the gifts now sitting in her bag, and listened to the chatter of the other students as they prepared for lunch. She looked up as Orihime, Tatsuki, and Chad made their way towards her and realized that there was somebody missing. She jumped to her feet and frantically looked for Rukia, but realized that aside from Ichigo, Rukia had also been absent all day. Suddenly angry, Hinata grabbed her bag and pushed her way towards the door. If Rukia wasn't here she must be with Ichigo and it wasn't fair that Rukia could spend the day with him but she couldn't. The others watched her in surprise and Tatsuki grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Tatsuki asked, startled by the sudden change in her mood.

Hinata glanced at the door and then back at Tatsuki. "I have to go. There's something I need to do."

"What about our sparring?!" Tatsuki called as Hinata broke free and rushed towards the door once more.

"Sorry!" Hinata yelled over her shoulder, breaking into a run when she reached the hallway. She searched for Ichigo's and Rukia's spirit pressure as she raced across the school grounds, attracting stares from everyone in the yard. She was with him. Rukia was with Ichigo. Hinata ran to Uncle Kisuke's shop, barely able to contain her anger. He looked up in surprise as she raced into the back of the shop and quickly disposed of her gigai.

"Hinata, what are you doing? Why aren't you in school?" Kisuke asked.

Hinata was close to tears. "Ichigo was supposed to spend my birthday with me, but he told me . . . and she . . . I'm so . . ."

"You're not making any sense!"

"I have to go, Uncle Kisuke! I'm sorry!"

He watched in amazement as she raced out of his shop. He'd never seen her so upset or at a loss for words.

. . .

Hinata sonidoed the whole way to the place Ichigo visited every year. Staying in the trees, she searched for his spirit pressure again and found him arguing with Rukia. Hinata listened as Rukia made excuses for following Ichigo, her heart sinking as Ichigo grew sadder and sadder. At least Rukia had followed him and Ichigo hadn't invited her. After a few moments, Ichigo ran off, leaving Rukia stunned. Hinata shook as she felt the weight of Ichigo's sadness. He'd always been sad on her birthday, but he'd never been this upset. What had Rukia said to him?

Before she could work out what to do, she sensed the appearance of a hollow. Rukia's phone rang from down below, while Hinata began to make her way towards the hollow. Then she heard a scream that made her move faster. Ichigo's sisters were being attacked. She could feel Ichigo moving back towards where he had been arguing with Rukia. He had sensed the hollow also. As she got closer, she prepared her quincy bow.

The hollow was massive. Karin lay on the ground, scratched and bruised, and the hollow was taunting Yuzu as he held her up in the air. Because of her perch in the tree and with Karin below, Hinata couldn't get a good angle. Frustrated, she shot a barrage of arrows hoping to get in a lucky shot. Hinata was unable to get any closer because Karin would see her in her spirit form.

"Faster, Ichigo," Hinata whispered, shooting at the hollow again. All she was managing to do was irritate the hollow with her lousy shots.

At last, Ichigo jumped out of nowhere and swung his massive sword at the hollow. It released Yuzu as Rukia arrived on the scene. As the battle progressed, chills began to run down Hinata's spine. As she watched, her frustration grew. This hollow talked too much.

Hinata was already having a bad day, but when the hollow made Masaki appear, Hinata could hardly control her rage. Ichigo froze when he saw the woman. _Did Ichigo know her?_ Hinata wondered. She'd been so mad that she had begun to tune out the hollow's rambling. She began to pay attention again as the hollow taunted Ichigo.

"That's right, boy. I killed her! I, Grand Fisher, killed your dear mother!" the hollow gloated.

Mother? Hinata looked at the woman again. It was definitely her mother, Masaki. So then . . . did that mean that she was Ichigo's mother too?

Ichigo let out an angry shout, attacking wildly. As he fought, Hinata's blood ran cold. This monster had killed her mother. He had killed Ichigo's mother. This was why Ichigo was so sad all the time. She clenched her teeth and drew her quincy bow, knowing it was useless at this moment, but wanting to feel its power in her hands to keep her from joining Ichigo as he fought. She knew he was getting tired, and he was injured, which made her even angrier. This was the worst day ever.

The last straw came when the monster vanished through a garganta, licking its wounds. Ichigo had lost. The battle had come to a draw and the monster had gotten away. Hinata flung her arm to the side, taking one last look at Ichigo's exhausted face, and flew through the garganta. This hollow wasn't going to get away from her. She couldn't do anything in Ichigo's world, but she would be able to kill the beast in Hueco Mundo, her world.

The hollow hadn't gone far when Hinata shot out of the garganta, drawing Nikko and letting out an angry snarl. "How dare you!" she half screamed as the monster spun around in surprise. "How dare you kill our mother, and hurt my brother, and hurt his sisters!"

Grand Fisher didn't know what hit him. Putting all her force into her swing, Hinata cut him clean in two, all of her anger and frustration channeling through her sword. As the monster vanished, she fell to her knees, sobbing.

. . .

Aizen felt a sharp rise in spirit pressure on the edges of Hueco Mundo. He had been going to meet his gathered arrancar, but paused now as he turned to the odd source of power. It was very brief, vanishing as soon as it had appeared. There was another powerful spirit pressure that vanished with it. Something, or someone, had just killed a hollow. Intrigued, Aizen quickened his pace so that he could inquire about this strange presence from the other arrancar.

Ulquiorra, Starrk, Lilynette, Nel, and a handful of others were gathered at the assigned meeting point. All of them bowed respectfully as Aizen approached. He smiled. Surely they would know who the source of such incredible spirit pressure was.

"Tell me," he said without greeting, "are there any other arrancars in Hueco Mundo right now? You all must have felt it right now. There is a very powerful arrancar here in Hueco Mundo."

There were many looks of puzzlement. Aizen looked to Ulquiorra, his most loyal follower, but the arrancar's expression was the same as ever: bored disinterest.

"None of you know where the source of that power came from?" Aizen asked, dismayed. Whoever it had been, they'd been powerful, and Aizen wanted that power. "Your new orders are to find the source of that spirit pressure! I want this arrancar!"

The arrancars scattered, muttering. Aizen watched and searched to find the source of the spirit pressure again. Sadly, he didn't have long to linger; he had to go back to the Soul Society. He made one last attempt to find the source, but there was nothing. His interest was piqued. He needed to find all of the powerful arrancars, and he desperately wanted to meet this mysterious arrancar. He began to obsess over it as he made his way back to the Seireitei.

. . .

Ulquiorra had sensed Hinata's return. It had taken all of his control to act as if he didn't recognize her spirit pressure. She had come back from the world of the living too early, and he could sense that she was upset. He wanted to go to her, but someone was following him.

He turned and came face to face with one of the newer members of the arrancar, Yammy. The massive arrancar had a broad grin on his face as he reached out and shoved Ulquiorra.

"I hear that you were one of the first to join Lord Aizen. Ain't that right?" Yammy grinned, shoving Ulquiorra again. "Think you're tough, do you?"

Ulquiorra glared at him, ignoring the taunts. He didn't have time for this.

"Think you're better than me? Huh?" Yammy's shoves were growing stronger and painful. Ulquiorra moved to dodge, but was thrown into the sand. Yammy was playing with him, and Ulquiorra wasn't strong enough to stop him. Ulquiorra hated it.

"How lame," Yammy whined, bored. "I thought Lord Aizen had better taste than this. Too bad."

Ulquiorra fled. He didn't know this new arrancar very well, and he didn't want to stick around any longer. Hinata needed him.

. . .

Hinata sensed Ulquiorra as he approached. Something was wrong. Her anger flared once more. What was it this time? When he finally came into view, she flew into his arms. He grunted in pain. He was hurt.

"Who did this?" Hinata hissed.

"It's nothing," Ulquiorra said, trying to hold her in place. "Tell me what happened. Why did you come back?"

Hinata ignored his questions, tracing the lingering spirit pressure that swirled around Ulquiorra. Nikko was in her hands again; Hinata was furious. "Let go of me, Ulqui. I'm going to kill him."

"No!" Ulquiorra cried, desperate now. "It's dangerous! I need to know what happened to you. Who upset you?"

Hinata looked into his eyes. Hers were filled with pure rage. Ulquiorra froze, startled by the violent expression on her face. Hinata broke free and sped off. Ulquiorra couldn't stop her; no one could catch her. It didn't take her long to find the source of the spirit pressure. The arrancar was massive, humming to himself as he kicked massive holes in the sides of the sand dunes he passed. Furious she called out to him. "Are you the one that hurt my big brother?"

The arrancar turned around and then let out a roar of laughter. "If I did, what's the likes of you going to do about it?"

"You hurt Ulquiorra, and that's unforgivable!"

The arrancar just laughed, as Hinata leapt, sword held high over her head. "Guide me, Nikko Kagayaki!" she called, bringing her sword down on the monster's face. His laughter turned into a look of pure horror as the blade pierced his skull. There was a blinding flash of light, and then the arrancar was gone. Sand swirled up into the air as Hinata landed, unable to release her grip on Nikko. She was breathing heavily and fought back more tears. Today had been the worst day of her life.

. . .

Ulquiorra finally caught up to her. The arrancar, Yammy, was gone. Hinata had killed him instantly. There was no way anyone had missed the blinding flash of light that had illuminated the dark skies of Hueco Mundo. He needed to get her away. He had to hide her!

He found her collapsed, passed out on the sand, holding her sword much like the day he had first found her. Gingerly, he lifted her into her arms and fled the scene, grateful that he regenerated quickly. She settled into his arms as he ran; her face, which had been so contorted with anger before, was now peaceful as she slept. Ulquiorra held her close and made his way towards home.

. . .

Masaki and Nikko ran out of their cabin as Hinata stumbled onto the lawn, sobbing. Her inner world had gradually darkened throughout the day until it had become pitch black. There wasn't even a sliver of moon like there had been the last time her world had gone dark. Masaki reached her first.

They didn't have to ask; they knew exactly what had happened. Masaki pulled Hinata into her lap and held her as she sobbed while Nikko stoked Hinata's hair, murmuring soothing words. Hinata had called her full name, releasing Nikko's full power, and she could still feel the lingering effects of the release. At last, Hinata pulled back and looked up into Masaki's face.

"You're dead, aren't you?" Hinata whispered, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "The monster said he killed you. He told Ichigo he'd killed you!"

"Shhh," Masaki murmured, wiping the tears from Hinata's face. "I'm right her, Hinata. It will be alright."

"Are you Ichigo's mom?" Hinata asked, clinging to her mother.

"Yes," Masaki answered, tears streaming silently down her cheeks too. "My little boy. You've been taking care of my little boy. You make him so happy, Hinata. I worry that he's not happy."

"Then he really is my big brother," Hinata whispered. She managed a weak smile. "I want to make Ichigo happy. I don't like it when he's sad. Ulquiorra too. I just want everyone to be happy."

She spent the rest of the night with Masaki and Nikko. She missed school the next day, spending the time calming down with her mother. She never wanted to feel like this ever again. She didn't leave her inner world until the darkness faded and the sun came out again.


	19. Chapter 17 A Quincy's Anger

I do not own Bleach. Sorry for the late update I have been without internet for the past two days.

Chapter 17 A Quincy's Anger

Uryu felt his anger rising. Hinata had left school early yesterday, hadn't come for training later, and she hadn't come to school at all today. He sent another glare towards Ichigo Kurosaki. It was all his fault. Ever since he had become a Shinigami, Hinata had been sadder than normal, and the silly, short Shinigami, Rukia, who was always with him. He pushed up his glasses. Sending another glare their way, he stood up. It was time to start his revenge. He would make Hinata happy again and he would prove that quincies where stronger then Shinigami once and for all. As he left the room, he couldn't help but have one more thought. For some reason, he felt that Ichigo Kurosaki didn't even know who he was.

. . . One Week Later . . .

Ichigo scowled at the ground. It had been a week since the anniversary of his mother's death, and Hinata had been acting weird. She hadn't come to school the next day and no one saw her at all. After that day it had been the weekend, and she hadn't been seen then either. When Monday came around, she had been quiet; her normal smile hadn't been as bright either. When he asked her what was wrong, she had said nothing with a small strained smile. It didn't help that everyone said it was his fault and demanded that he fix it and give them their Hinata back. Their Hinata! It was his sister for crying out load. To top it off, Rukia had been dragging him around more than normal to find hollows that didn't even exist. Stupid soul pager doesn't even work. Then there was the weird kid who wore a weird white dress thing. What his name? Ishima, Ishiro, ah who cares; he was causing problems.

"You know what, Rukia," he said, looking over at the shorter girl, "this is all your fault." With that, he took off running towards school.

"My fault! What's my fault?!"

He didn't look back as he ran, slowly leaving her in the dust with his longer legs. He needed to talk to Hinata. When he got to school though, the front hall was full of students. As he got closer, he realized it was the test scores from the last exam. He watched Tatsuki patting Inoue's head. He quickly checked the board. He gave a smile when he saw that Hinata was ranked second, he then quickly scanned down until he saw his name at twenty-three. He smirked as Keigo and Mizuiro both gave a cry of dismay at his placement. They both ran off as well when they found out Chad had placed even higher at eleven.

After they left, his mind went back to the pressing concern. What was wrong with Hinata? He looked around again and didn't see her. His next concern: who was that jerk from last night who had said he hated Ichigo.

"What was his name again? Ishida Uhhhh. . . Willy. . .? That's not it. That one's a failed entertainer. Wally? No that's wrong. At this rate I'll never come up with it."

"What about Ishida-kun?" Ichigo was surprised to find Inoue talking to him.

"You know Ishida?"

"I know all about him. . . he's in our class after all. Ishida-kun I mean. He's dating your cousin, Ichigo."

Ichigo was so shocked to find out that the mystery boy was in his class that he missed the last thing Inoue said. She walked over to the board and pointed. "See Ishida Uryuu-kun, right? Here, look, he tied with Hinata for first."

"Wha!" He got first place and he tied with Hinata!

"See?"

"It's no use, Orihime. This guy can't recall people's faces and names at all. He probably doesn't recall half the class at all." Tatsuki spoke up, but in a whisper told Orihime, "but still, for how much he loves his cousin, how come he doesn't seem to know Ishida even though he is dating Hinata?"

"Oh, well, Ishida-kun doesn't really talk much. He doesn't stand out like Kurosaki-kun's group, so he might be hard to remember," Orihime chirped up.

"You know him pretty well. Inoue, are you two close?" Ichigo asked.

"Not at all! We're just in the same handicraft club together."

"Handicraft club!?"

For the next five minutes they peeked around the door, staring at the boy Ishida Uryu. They watched him fix a stuffed toy for a girl!

The girl even tried to thank him. "It. . . it's fixed! Thank you, Ishida-kun!"

"No need for gratitude. It was no big deal." He replied while pushing up his glasses.

"Eh. . . Ah. . . right. . . sorry. . ." The girl slowly walked away.

Ichigo looked down at Inoue.

"Ahh. There he goes again. He'd be a nice guy if he didn't talk that way. He's only nice when he's with Hinata."

Ichigo shook his head and looked back down at Inoue. "What?"

Inoue looked up at him, "Yeah, Ishida-kun and Hinata are dating, and he is only nice when they are together."

He was still shocked when he looked up again to see Hinata skipping into the room.

"Uryu!"

Ishida gave a smile as he stood up. Hinata had her arms out as if to hug him. Ichigo gave a growl as he jumped up and ran in between him holding out his arm, catching Hinata by the head and preventing her from getting closer to Ishida.

The room went silent. Hinata looked up at Ichigo with big eyes. "Ichigo?"

"What are you doing Kurosaki?" A growl rolled out from behind Ichigo as a hand descended on his shoulder. He looked back to see Ishida was glaring at him.

"Back off, Ishida," Ichigo growled back. Ichigo felt his arm go slack and was surprised to see Hinata appear between them.

"What are you doing, Ichigo?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the side.

Another growl began to rise in his throat as he watched Ishida put an arm casually around Hinata's shoulders, and pulled her closer. Hinata was looking back and forth between them, confused. Ichigo was reaching out to grab her when the teacher walked in, calling the room to attention.

Ichigo made sure to grab Hinata every break and pull her out of the room. He had asked her about Ishida being her boyfriend, but all she had said was, "Uryu is a friend who is a boy." Ichigo scowled; Ishida wasn't acting like just a friend. Hinata was too innocent to know what a "boyfriend" was. When he looked up from his thoughts though, he found that both Ishida and Hinata were missing!

. . .

Hinata was so confused. Uryu and Ichigo seemed to be mad at each other, and she couldn't figure out why. She had always known that Uryu didn't like Ichigo, but they had never fought before. They were on their way to Uryu's to practice. Uryu had grabbed her hand when the last bell of the day had rung, and they had run out of the school. Uryu still seemed on edge.

"What's wrong, Uryu?"

He gave a slight jump before looking at her and pushing his glasses up. He gave a sigh before responding, "I'm just mad."

"Why are you mad?"

He looked about to answer before thinking better of it, and instead called out to behind them, "Do you intend to follow us all the way, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Hinata looked back to see Ichigo step out from behind a wall. She had felt him following them for a long time, but he kept hiding, so she had left him alone to his game. His face was in a deep scowl as he glared at Uryu.

"Found me out, huh. When did you notice?"

Uryu rolled his eyes before looking at Hinata and then looking back up to answer, "From the beginning. It's due to your foolish inability to restrain your spiritual power. Even a monkey would know." With that, he turned and began to walk again, giving Hinata a gentle pull as she continued to walk with him.

Ichigo's angry voice rose from behind them, "What did you say?"

"You are like that. You seem to lack the ability to sense people with high spiritual strength. The evidence is that you didn't even notice my existence until today. It has been rumored for months that I was dating Hinata, and you still didn't notice me."

Ichigo gave a growl. "My bad! I'm bad at remembering faces! So, with you, I. . ."

"That's not all. The second thing is right here beside me." He held up his hand that was holding Hinata's. "She has more than me, and if I'm not wrong even more then you do, but you have never noticed have you?"

Hinata looked confused back and forth between the two boys while Ichigo's eyes went big and he looked to Hinata.

"But that is not all I noticed. Since I entered this school, I noticed how your spiritual power is unusually high, not as high as Hinata's, but still high. How in mid-May, you acquired the power of a Shinigami, and Kuchiki Rukia's true identity."

With that Hinata watched as ribbons appeared all around them. She reached out, gently touching those close to her. "Pretty," she whispered. Uryu shot her a small smile.

Ichigo cried out, "That's!"

"Yes, it's reiraku, something that compresses and visualizes the spiritual auras in the atmosphere. Only upper-level Shinigami can visualize them, and only upper-level Shinigami can touch them. As a Shinigami, you should have heard of that. However," Uryu's hand shot out, grabbing a red tattered ribbon, "did you know? The color of a Shinigami's reiraku is different; it's red." Ichigo's eyes got even wider as Uryu let go of the ribbon. "I am a quincy," he pulled Hinata closer, "and Hinata is one as well. One who holds the power to kill hollows. Won't you fight us, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

At that, Hinata's head whipped around to look at Uryu. "I can't fight Ichigo, Uryu!"

Ichigo took a step forward. "What do you think you are doing, Ishida?" His eyes where narrowed until he was standing just a foot in front of Uryu.

Uryu cast a look at Hinata before standing tall. "Between a Shinigami such as you, and a quincy such as I, which would surpass the other? I'll make you understand that Shinigami are unnecessary in this world, and that all you are doing by trying to be one is hurting Hinata."

"Uryu, Ichigo isn't hurting me."

Uryu patted Hinata's arm. "Since Rukia has shown up and he became a Shinigami, you have been sadder. I will fix this and make it so you aren't sad anymore." With that, he shot another glare at Ichigo.

Ichigo bristled, "You want a fight between you and me?"

"That's right. In this world, Shinigami are unnecessary."

"This is ridiculous! Hinata, come over here," Ichigo said while holding out his hand for her to take.

"What did you say?" Uryu glared back.

"Me, compete against you? Why do I have to do that? It sounds stupid! I don't know what kind of grudge you've got against Shinigami, but I have nothing to do with it! And you heard Hinata say it herself: I have never hurt her. Come on, Hinata, we are going home," he said, grabbing her arm.

Hinata's eyes went big and she pulled away, hiding behind Uryu. Ichigo was scaring her. He wasn't acting like himself; he was leaking anger and it was making her sick to her stomach. When he had grabbed her, it had burned. "You're scaring me, Ichigo."

Ichigo felt like he had been slapped as he watched her hide behind Uryu, holding her arm. She almost seemed to have tears in her eyes. Uryu stepped up, blocking her completely from his sight. "Back off, Kurosaki, you are hurting her."

In a stuttering voice, Hinata spoke up. "Its okay, Uryu. It didn't hurt that much."

Uryu had looked back at her when she spoke, but quickly turned back to Ichigo with more anger in his eyes. "So he did hurt you."

Ichigo felt all the color in his face drain away. He had hurt Hinata. He had hurt his sunshine. He fell to his knees; how could he do something like that?

Hinata felt his anger vanish and be replaced by sadness. She could never stand Ichigo being sad. She let go of Uryu's shirt, which she had been holding. Stepping around him, she fell to the ground beside Ichigo and went to touch him, but he flinched away from her touch. Filled with sadness, she let her hand fall to her lap, and she just watched him.

"This is what I mean, Kurosaki Ichigo. All you have done is hurt Hinata, and I'm sick and tired of how you treat her. Fighting with me will show who is truly strong enough to protect Hinata and keep her from being hurt again."

Hinata was startled. "What?!"

"Fine, if that's what it will take to truly protect her then I will." Ichigo said as he stood up, looking determined again.

Hinata tried to speak up, telling them this isn't what she wanted, but she found that she couldn't get her mouth to move.

Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled the small white pill that was Kuon out. Popping it into his mouth, he left his body. "Kuon, grab Hinata and make sure she stays safe. Now, explain the rules of this fight."

Uryu reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object that made Hinata stiffen when she smelled it. If Kuon hadn't been holding her, she would have lunged at it. "We'll begin the battle with this."

"What's that?" Ichigo asked.

"Hollow bait. If I crush and scatter this, then hollows will gather in this town."

Kuon's, Ichigo's, and Hinata's eyes went wide. "What?" Ichigo cried!

"The one who defeats the most of the gathered hollows within twenty four hours wins. How about that? Nice and easy to understand the rules."

"What's that!? Quit screwin' around! Are you trying to expose everyone to danger!? Who do you think you are!?"

Hinata had finally gotten over her shock of what had just happened. "No! Uryu, you can't!"

"Keep your morality to yourself! This is your fault to begin with!" With that, he smashed the hollow bait in his hand.

And with it Hinata began to spasm in Kuon's arms as she tried to maintain what made her human. Both Ichigo and Uryu where surprised at Hinata's reaction to the crushing of the bait, but they didn't have time to think about it as Hollows began to pore into the town.

Ichigo growled out in frustration. "Take her to safety Kuon, and don't let anything hurt her." Kuon quickly picked up the thrashing figure, taking off at a run. Ichigo turned back to Uryu. "If she is so much as scratched, I will kill you Ishida!"


	20. Chapter 18 Resolve

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 18 Resolve

Kisuke looked up at the sky. He had felt the rise in hollows and now, as he looked up at the sky, he watched as several more gargantas appeared in the sky. Someone must have released hollow bait, and a strong one at that. His eyes went wide. "Shit!" Running back into the store, he yelled, "Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, grab your gear. We have a mission!"

Rukia shot up from the table. "What's the matter?" Kisuke ignored her. She grabbed him by the front of his overcoat. "What's happening?"

He glared down at her. "Look outside."

In less than a minute, his team was out the door. He chose to ignore Rukia as he prayed that the gigai that Hinata was in would prevent her from giving into her hollow instincts, causing her to kill the whole town.

. . .

Hinata awoke to someone shaking her. As her eyes came open, she felt a pressure of spiritual energy just under her hollow hole that was growing very painful. She saw Kuon standing over her, looking frantic, but he stopped shaking her when she looked at him. He fell back on the ground.

"Thank goodness, you're awake! I was starting to worry that you had died."

As she sat up and took deeper breaths of air, she felt the pressure below her hole lessen. "What's going on?"

Before Kuon could even answer, there was a deafening roar. She looked up to see a garganta open in the sky with hollows streaming out. It all came back to her. Ichigo and Uryu were fighting. She could feel their anger all the way from over here, and she shrank a little on the inside. The feelings of anger made her sick. She needed to stop the hollows, but she was so confused that she didn't know what to do. She started to cry and pulled her arms over her head.

She wasn't like that long before Kuon cried out. She peeked up to see Kuon frantically trying to beat back five hollows that seemed intent on trying to eat her. She watched in horror as one of the bigger ones pinned Kuon down. She tried to jump to her feet, but her body collapsed to the ground.

"Nooooooooooooo!"

She was startled to see the hollows disintegrate. Then suddenly, Kisuke was in front of her, grabbing her arms and looking her all over before giving her a hug. "You're still you! Here, take this." She opened her mouth as he shoved a piece of candy in. She felt the pain below her hollow hole grow tight before all of a sudden it was gone.

Tears pricked her eyes. "Uncle Kisuke!" She threw herself into his chest and cried. He gently rubbed her back until she had calmed down enough to talk, "I. . .I. . .I don't know what to do. . ." she sniffled. ". . . Ichigo and Uryu. . . they're both so angry. . . it hurts! They didn't listen to me. . . I don't know where to go!"

"Shhhhh, it will be okay, Hinata. It will be okay." He hummed soothingly into her ear.

She looked up at him with those big brown eyes full of tears. "They're going to kill each other, Uncle Kisuke!" she sobbed. "I don't want them to get hurt . . . and Uryu . . . I felt so sick . . . Ichigo was so mad . . . I don't know what to do!"

Kisuke didn't know what to say. It was hard to understand her babbling through her tears.

"What do I do?"

Thinking it through, Kisuke grew angry again. "You go show them that you are stronger than they are. Don't go to either of their sides. Go and save the people. You have more power than you think you do, Hinata."

Hinata clung to him. "What if I can't save them all? There are so many! And then Ichigo . . . Uryu . . . I can't just leave them!"

Kisuke gently wiped her tears away. "They'll have to work it out on their own. Your job right now is to take care of everyone in Karakura town. Can you do that, Hinata?"

At his words Hinata began to feel a little better. "Thank you, Kisuke. I'll protect Karakura town." She gave him another hug before standing up and turning to Kuon. "Kuon, I need your help."

Kuon ran over to Hinata, giving her a hug. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"Kuon, I need you to carry me throughout the town so that I can shoot Hollows. Can you do that?"

He seemed to think about it, and then crouched down. "Here, get on my shoulders. It will give you the best shot."

She smiled before climbing on. As Kuon stood, Kisuke stepped forward, touching her knee. "When this is all done, come to the shop." She gave him a nod before Kuon jumped into the sky and her hunting began.

It was fun; Kuon would climb into the sky and Hinata would get off several shots before they hit the ground again. When they had first started, she had missed a couple of times, but an hour into it, she had gotten to the point where she didn't miss anymore. They would stop every so often to give Ichigo's body a rest while she would send sniper shots at hollows nearby before taking off again.

Several hours in, she became worried about Uryu. His spiritual pressure had weakened, and it felt to her that the only thing that kept him on his feet was his anger. Around that time, he met up with Rukia, soon followed by Ichigo. Before long, Uryu left them, but didn't make it very far.

She felt a weight lift off her chest as, not even ten minutes after Ichigo joined Rukia, Ichigo's anger dissipated. It flared a couple more times when Ichigo left Rukia to go be by Uryu.

She gave a smile when she felt that they had made up. The immense anger was gone, replaced by a shaky friendship. Hinata smiled. She couldn't see any more hollows, so she gave a smile. "Kuon, can you land on a tall building?"

He just gave a big smile before taking off again. Once they had landed, she decided to try the ribbon thing that Uryu had used. She felt around and felt a click when the ribbons appeared. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that there were more ribbon colors than when Uryu had used it. Kuon's eyes had gone wide too. "Wow, Hinata, your ribbons are colorful." She smiled at him before counting how many hollow ribbons were where. "Who's this one?"

She looked over to see Kuon holding a ribbon that was black, white, red, and blue. "That one's Ichigo." She reached out, pulling a purple ribbon and handing it to Kuon, "That one's yours!" She smiled at his shocked expression as he tenderly held it. He didn't look up until all the ribbons vanished again. "Well, it looks like we got all of them except for the ones Ichigo and Uryu are fighting. Let's head that way, Kuon."

"Sounds good, climb on up." He knelt down again, allowing her to climb onto his shoulders before standing and taking off again.

Hinata felt the moment a Menos Grande made its approach through the garganta, slowly entering Karakura. She felt Kuon stiffen to as he felt it too. They stopped and looked up at the sky as it broke through. "We need to hurry, Kuon," Hinata said in barely a whisper. He gave a nod before taking off faster than before. Hinata noticed that Uncle Kisuke and the rest of his family were close to Ichigo. She gave a smile as the hollows around Ichigo began to vanish faster. Her family was helping Ichigo and Uryu.

They stopped on a roof overlooking her family. Kisuke looked up at her and held his finger to his lips and smiled. She looked up to watch Ichigo and Uryu fight the Menos Grande. She would just watch unless they needed help.

She turned her head when she felt a familiar spirit pressure. Orihime and Chad; they were looking out the window towards Ichigo and Uryu. She smiled; they had finally realized their power.

It was funny to watch Ichigo and Uryu fight the massive hollow; even Kuon joined in with her laughing as Uryu's bow kept becoming massive. She watched Ichigo raise his spiritual pressure to be able to finally send it back to Hueco Mundo. He didn't kill it, but it wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

"Kuon, can you take me down to them?"

He looked at her. "Are you ready for that?"

She gave a nod. He picked her up princess style and with one big jump landed right next to them. They both looked up, startled by her sudden appearance. She looked each of them in the eyes before giving each of them a big hug.

Ichigo started mumbling that he was sorry for hurting her, and Ishida seemed to be avoiding her eyes. She grabbed each of them by an arm and pulled them together. "It's okay because now we are all friends!"

They both tried to jump back but she held them firm as they began to adamantly refuse that they were friends. Hinata's laughter pealed out.

. . .

Aizen pushed away from the monitors, frustrated. It had been over a week since he'd felt that incredible spiritual pressure while in Hueco Mundo, but none of the arrancars had been able to find its source. He had only gotten two reports. One was from Starrk and Lilynette about a large indestructible sand castle, and the other was from Ulquiorra, who'd reported even more peculiarities that had occurred in his absence. Yammy, one of his newest and strongest arrancars had been vanquished shortly after his return to the Soul Society.

"Who killed him?" Aizen had asked, showing more interest than anger. "How was he killed?"

"I'm still investigating," Ulquiorra had said in that serious manner that he had. "We'd all separated to search for the source of spirit pressure, as you had requested. It seems that Yammy stumbled across the source of that power, but was no match for it. You can ask just about anyone in Hueco Mundo; there was a blinding flash of light, and then Yammy's pressure vanished. The source of the light vanished along with him."

Who? Aizen had been obsessing over it as he prepared the next stage of his plans for Ichigo Kurosaki. Adding to his frustrations was a young orange haired girl that was often around the Kurosaki boy. There were times that the girl never left his side, and other times where his sensors couldn't seem to pick up her presence anywhere. It was almost as if she would just vanish altogether.

Really, the girl was insignificant, but it was an irritation that lingered in the back of his mind. Even more pressing was the matter of the elusive arrancar. Since he'd requested that the arrancar be found, rumors had begun to spread across Hueco Mundo. Surely _someone_ had seen this arrancar before, and he _wanted_ that arrancar's power.


	21. Chapter 19 Rukia's Betrayal

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 19 – Rukia's Betrayal

Kisuke muttered under his breath as he examined Hinata's gigai. That idiot quincy boy had nearly caused its destruction with that hollow bait of his. At first glance, it had seemed that the gigai had sustained little to no damage, but upon further examination, the gigai was a mess. Cursing all quincies, Kisuke tinkered around as he readjusted here and there. Hinata was stronger than he gave her credit for. Sometimes he almost forgot that she was a hollow.

"Uncle Kisuke!" Hinata called, peeking into his work room. "Are you done yet?"

"Not quite, my dear," Kisuke said as cheerfully as he could.

Next thing he knew, Hinata had jumped on his back from behind, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Ichigo and Uryu will be mad if I'm not at school tomorrow."

Kisuke sighed, turning to smile at her. "I'll be done before tomorrow, dear, I promise. Your Uncle Kisuke is a miracle worker. Did Tessai give you your candy?"

"Yep!" she said brightly. "He made me eat my vegetables first, though."

Kisuke laughed. Tessai had taken a great deal of care to teach Hinata proper etiquette, manners, and nutrition. Unfortunately for Tessai, Hinata had a supreme sweet tooth. "Poor Hinata," Kisuke sympathized. "Next time I'll make your dinner."

Hinata smiled. "Promise it will be finished tomorrow?"

"Promise," Kisuke said, hugging her before shooing her. "Now get out so Uncle Kisuke can work."

Hinata kissed his cheek then bounced happily out of the room.

. . .

Uryu stole glances at Hinata and Ichigo throughout class. Hinata was smiling again like her usual self, babbling happily about whatever happened to be on her mind at the moment. Ichigo still irritated him, but they'd come to an understanding; Hinata's happiness was the most important thing to both of them. He smiled as she tossed her long orange hair over her shoulder, throwing a smile his way. Somehow, he and Ichigo would have to make this work.

. . .

Rukia was acting strange. Ichigo almost didn't notice, except Hinata had asked him why Rukia was being so quiet today. He spent the rest of the day wondering what Rukia was up to, oblivious to the fact that Uryu had joined them for lunch. Rukia had joined Orihime and the other girls in their class for lunch today, and it worried Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Hinata said, jumping on his back. "Aren't you listening?"

"Hmm?" Ichigo asked, distracted.

"I've been trying to tell you about the new candy Uncle Kisuke gave me!"

"That's nice," Ichigo said, glancing over the roof's edge again.

"You're not listening, Ichigo," Hinata pouted.

"Don't worry about it," Uryu said, tugging on Hinata's hand. "His skull's too thick, even you can't get through."

Ichigo missed the entire exchange.

. . .

"Are you coming to practice today?" Uryu asked Hinata.

"Not today," Hinata said, grabbing Ichigo's hand. "I was going to walk him home and then I promised Uncle Kisuke I'd stop by his shop." She looked up at Ichigo. He was still distracted.

Uryu left them soon after, and Hinata walked Ichigo home in silence. She hummed to herself, swinging their hands between them. Over the years, she had learned when Ichigo wanted to talk about what was bothering him and when he wanted to keep to himself. She was just happy to be spending time with him again. It had been a while since she'd gone home with him.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Ichigo said, giving Hinata a quick hug once they reached his house.

"Yep!" Hinata said, kissing his cheek. "Take care, Ichigo!"

Hinata took her time walking back to Kisuke's shop, picking flowers along her way. As she went, she kept tabs on everyone's spirit pressure. Ichigo had been so distracted all day that it worried her, and Uryu was acting a little weird too. Rukia had been acting strange all day, and had vanished immediately after school. Hinata could feel Rukia wandering around on her own, but decided to just keep tabs on her for now. Humming, she walked into Kisuke's shop, sticking a flower in Ururu's hair and attempting to hug Jinta before wandering into the back of the shop. Uncle Kisuke wanted to check her gigai again to make sure it was working okay.

"You can go home if you'd like, my dear," Kisuke said once Hinata was free of the gigai. "This may take a while."

"I thought you said it was finished," Hinata pouted. "It is a little stiff though."

"Oh, it works," Kisuke said with a smile, "but I want it to be perfect, and it's not perfect yet. Go home and you can pick it up in the morning."

Hinata sighed. "If you say so, Uncle Kisuke." Then she smiled and hugged him. "See you soon!"

. . .

Ulquiorra was waiting for Hinata's return, pacing as he felt her enter the garganta. He needed to tell her that it wasn't safe for her to spend a lot of time in Hueco Mundo anymore. Aizen had been gathering arrancars and vastolordes by the dozens ever since she had killed Yammy, and he had all of them searching for her. It made him nervous. Before long, she skipped out of the garganta right into his arms, hugging him.

He held her close, searching for the other spirit pressures nearby and deciding they needed to move. Starrk and Lilynette were the closest, but Ulquiorra didn't want to run into them right now. "Let's go," he told Hinata.

"Are you okay, Ulqui?" Hinata asked as they hurried to the cave they currently called home.

Ulquiorra gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine, Hinata. There are just some dangerous people out and about right now."

"You're worried about something."

Ulquiorra hated when she was observant, and it was getting harder to distract her when he didn't want to tell her something. "Its fine," he lied. "Everything is fine." That's when he noticed that she was distracted too. "Are you okay, Hinata?"

She shook her head, frowning. "Ichigo and his friends are acting weird."

They slipped into their cave while Ulquiorra thought this over. He didn't understand humans very well, so he didn't know what Hinata was concerned about. Whatever was bothering her, he still felt that she'd be safer with the humans than she would be in Hueco Mundo. He debated telling her the truth when she suddenly sat up ramrod straight. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Rukia . . ." Hinata whispered, then frowned. "No, she's fine." Hinata shook her head, her sword suddenly materializing in her hands. She held it close and closed her eyes, then smiled up at Ulquiorra. "I'm alright," she told him.

Ulquiorra decided to tell her about the other arrancars. "Hinata . . . I think you should stay in the human world for a little bit. The other arrancars . . . they're looking for you."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "If they're looking for me, why can't I meet them?"

"It's not safe!" She looked startled at the sudden fear in his voice. "It's not safe," he repeated in a gentler tone. "Some of them are nice, but other arrancar aren't very nice at all. When you killed that other arrancar, everyone noticed and want to know who did it."

Hinata stared at him. "You mean I have to leave you?"

"No, that's not what I said. It's just dangerous right now. I'll come get you when it's safe to come back. They should calm down in a couple of days. Until then you can't come back to Hueco Mundo."

"Oh," Hinata said, looking sad. She hugged Ulquiorra. "I don't want to leave you, Ulqui! You get so lonely when I'm away."

"It will only be for a little bit," he promised, hugging her back, wishing he didn't have to send her away. "I just want you to be safe."

She kissed his cheek, looking sad still, and then stiffened again. "Uryu!" she said, looking scared. "Ulquiorra, I have to go! Promise you'll come get me?"

"I promise," Ulquiorra said, watching sadly as once more she vanished through the garganta.

. . .

Kisuke looked up, startled when Hinata ran into his back room, worry written all over her face. "What's wrong, Hinata? I thought you went home!"

"You need to go help Ichigo," Hinata said, tugging on his arm. "He needs to go help Rukia!"

Kisuke had noticed when Rukia had run into other Shinigami, but he had been too focused on Hinata's gigai, and so had dismissed it. Now he noticed that Rukia was with a captain and a lieutenant. Suddenly, Hinata's concern didn't seem so out of place.

"Stay right here," he told her. "I'll go get Ichigo. Don't move!"

. . .

Hinata paced around, glancing at her gigai. Uryu had wandered off while she had been talking to Ulquiorra, and now he was meeting up with Rukia and two strange people with very strong spirit pressure. Uncle Kisuke was at Ichigo's house, but Hinata had a bad feeling about everything. Looking at her gigai again, she slipped into it and took off, headed to Ichigo's house. She needed to help him!

Her gigai was too slow, so she used Hirenyaku to get there faster. Ichigo was already gone, and Uncle Kisuke was slowly following Ichigo's spirit pressure. "Uncle Kisuke!" she called, running to him when she froze. Ichigo wasn't going to make it in time. Uryu was hurt! She grabbed Uncle Kisuke's arm and tried pulling him, but he held her in place.

"Hinata, stop," he said sternly.

"Ichigo needs help!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks. "They hurt Uryu, and they'll hurt Ichigo too!"

"Bakudo 61," Kisuke whispered, releasing Hinata. The bright lights she sometimes used as a skirt suddenly bound her arms to her side. She tried to pull free like she had before, but her gigai was too weak to break the kido. She looked at Uncle Kisuke in surprise.

"Uncle Kisuke?"

"I'm sorry, my dear," Kisuke said, "but you can't help Ichigo this time. He needs to fight this battle on his own."

Hinata was crying now. "He's not ready, Uncle Kisuke. They're going to hurt him! They already hurt Uryu!"

"I know he's not ready," Uncle Kisuke said, peering into Hinata's eyes. "He needs to lose this fight, Hinata. If he doesn't do this on his own, he'll never get stronger. You can't help him this time."

Hinata didn't understand. "Ichigo can't lose," she sobbed.

"Yes, he will," Uncle Kisuke said, grabbing Hinata's shoulders and directing her towards Ichigo. "We'll be there when he's finished, but we can't help him." Hinata stumbled forward, walking awkwardly because of the Kido binding her. Uncle Kisuke was scaring her, but she couldn't do anything about it.

. . .

"You are just a human," Rukia said darkly, glaring down at Ichigo. "How dare you grab my brother like that. You better learn your place!"

Kisuke and Hinata stood in the shadows, watching as Ichigo lay bleeding in the street, staring up at Rukia. Kisuke had wrapped Hinata in his cloak to suppress both of their spirit pressures. Hinata had nearly managed to break his Kido on their way to find Ichigo, and it had taken all of his power to keep her restrained. He felt bad restraining her, but was grateful that she had returned to the gigai before ignoring his orders and following him. He wouldn't have been able to restrain her if she were in her spirit form.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Renji Abari said, talking down to Ichigo. "Listen, the more you move around, the faster you'll find yourself dead."

Kisuke watched the exchange silently, holding Hinata close. She was shaking partly from crying and partly from anger.

"Take even one step, or try to come after me . . . and, if you do . . . I'll never ever forgive you!" Rukia yelled at Ichigo.

"I've shattered his soul chain," Byakuya Kuchiki said, explaining that Ichigo's soul reaper powers were gone. "Even if he does survive this attack, all of his powers will be lost."

"No!" Hinata whispered, but Kisuke held her tighter.

"It will be alright," Kisuke whispered. "They'll leave in a moment, and then I'll help Ichigo. This is important though."

It had begun to rain as Captain, Lieutenant, and Rukia walked away from Ichigo. Renji opened the Senkaimon leading back to the Seireitei. Ichigo watched, unable to move. Finally, Kisuke let Hinata go and approached Ichigo. He released the Kido binding Hinata, but she didn't move. She was still in shock. Yoruichi had joined them at the very end and now rode on Kisuke's shoulder. Kisuke had pulled out an umbrella and now held it over Ichigo, who looked up at him, and then passed out.

There was a cry from Hinata. She ran over to Ichigo, shaking. She looked at Uryu too, who lay a short distance away, attempting to get up.

"Its okay, Hinata," Kisuke said, grabbing her hand. "They'll both be okay."

Hinata sniffed, looking up at him. "Rukia betrayed us."

"No," Kisuke said. "Rukia just saved your brother."

She looked at him, confused. He smiled to ensure her that it would be alright. "We'll help the quincy first, then we'll take Ichigo back to my shop and fix him up there. Everything will be alright. I promise. Ichigo will be good as new when I'm done healing him."

"Okay," Hinata whispered, looking down at her brother.

Kisuke smiled, and then proceeded to heal the quincy boy while Hinata sat next to Ichigo, holding his hand.


	22. Chapter 20 Left in the Cold

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 20 Left in the Cold

Hinata sat and watched Uncle Kisuke as he began to heal Ichigo. He had only been healing Ichigo for a few minutes when he gave a sigh and cast a look back at her. With that look Tessai's hand fell on her shoulder; he gave a small smile and nodded towards the door. She gave Ichigo's hand a small squeeze before standing and leaving.

Only when they were far enough away from Ichigo's room that he couldn't hear them if he had been awake did Tessai talk. "I'm sorry Hinata, but I'm afraid that the hollow spiritual pressure that your damaged gigai is leaking is preventing Ichigo from healing."

"What?" Hinata said in a small, startled voice as she took a step back.

"I'm afraid you will have to leave for the night and go back to Hueco Mundo. Don't worry; Ichigo will be at school tomorrow."

Her voice came out in a croak. "I'm hurting Ichigo." She saw the answer in his eyes before he could say anything. In that moment she dropped her gigai on the ground and sonidioed away with tears flowing down her face.

. . .

Aunt Kitty found her just as the sun began to rise.

"What are you doing here?" She purred.

Hinata cast her a sad, red-eyed look. "Watching the sun rise."

"You know that's not what I meant."

She gave a sigh before looking back at the rising sun. "You know Ichigo gave me my name. He tells me all the time that I'm his sunshine. That I brought light into his dark world." With that she fell forward on her knees as tears poured out of her eyes. Sobs took over again making it so she couldn't speak or talk. She felt Aunt Kitty reach over and began to draw small circles on her back. When the sobs slowed down enough, Hinata managed to choke out, "I. . . I couldn't. . . I couldn't help him! Then. . . when I wanted. . . to stay. . . by him, Tessai said I was hurting him!" She howled out.

"Tessai told me. Why didn't you go back to Hueco Mundo then?"

"I can't," she said in a barely audible voice.

"What was that?"

"I can't go back. Ulqui said it was dangerous and for the time I can't go home until he comes and gets me. I have nowhere to go." With that she felt her tears dry up; there were no more to shed.

"Those fools." Aunt Kitty said with a growl in her throat.

Hinata cast her a sad smile before Sonidoing away.

. . .

Hinata snuck into the shop as quietly as she could to grab her body before running away to school again. She had waited until she was sure Ichigo was on his way to school before entering. She was surprised to find Uncle Kisuke sitting over her gigai when she entered.

He sent a sideways look through his hair towards her before looking down at her gigai. "Hinata, I need to tell you a few things. First, you will have to use the gigai over there," he gestured to the corner where one of the older models sat. "When school gets out, come back here and pick up this one. I should have it done by then. Also, for the next ten or so days I will be training Ichigo here, and it is imperative that he not see you. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to come over for the next ten days until it is all done. Do you understand?"

Hinata felt her shoulders slump forward and tears began to prick her eyes again. "Yes." With that she grabbed the old gigai and left the shop.

Kisuke looked up at her when she had replied, but hadn't had time to stop her. He tracked her spiritual pressure as it left, his brows drawn together. Something was wrong, but he had other things to worry about right now, like making sure her brother didn't die.

. . .

When Hinata got to school, she was surprised to see a boy sitting in Rukia's place and, to top it off, no one remembered her either. She had given Ichigo a hug when he had come in and he had patted her on the head.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine Hinata, don't worry about it. I'll get her back," he said softly.

"Can I help?"

With that he looked past her out the windows. "It won't be hard, Hinata. I won't need your help." With a final pat on her head he walked past her to his desk.

She watched him walk to his seat. He didn't want her help either. She could feel the sincerity through his spiritual pressure. She walked over to Uryu next; she was still a few feet away when his head shot up and he sent her a glare.

"Leave me alone you imposter!" His words seemed to echo around the room and the whole class went silent.

"What?" Her voice crooked out.

He stood and walked over to her, leaning in close so only she could hear. "So Ichigo's your brother, but that's not possible. What are you?"

She stumbled away from him. His eyes followed her movement and he even took a step so that she couldn't get away. "Have you been playing with me all this time?"

This could not be happening. She felt as Uryu's hand wrapped around her arm. He leaned in close again. "Was this all just a game to you?" He hissed.

She cast a look around the classroom and saw the whole class frozen as if they couldn't believe what was happening. She raised her arm to cover her eyes from the menacing figure of Uryu. She felt her breathing become fast and shallow. When she tried to speak, nothing came out. She watched as Ichigo finally unfroze and jumped from his desk and, yelling at Uryu to let her go, but his grip tightened. She felt the world tip and her body collapse as her world went black.

. . .

She awoke to Orihime and Chad looking down at her. When she tried to sit up they both pushed her down gently. "Where am I?" she asked in a small voice.

"Infirmary." Chad said.

"You hyperventilated in class. I don't know what Uryu was thinking, but that was just mean!" Orihime defended Hinata.

"Where's Ichigo?"

They both looked away, avoiding her eyes before Orihime finally replied. "He said he going to leave town for the next couple of days and he had to leave as soon as school was out."

Hinata felt tears prick her eyes again. Chad reached out and patted her head.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"What do you mean, silly?" Orihime said.

"I cannot go home, I have nowhere to go, and Ichigo and Uryu both hate me."

Orihime gave her a big hug. "They don't hate you. Let's find Tatsuki and see if you can stay with her."

Hinata was startled by this. "Why can't I stay with you?" Orihime was the kind of person who normally would not have hesitated to just take Hinata in.

Orihime sent a look towards Chad. "Sorry, I'm spending the break with Chad, so I won't be home to stay with you."

At that moment Hinata realized that they were going to help Ichigo and didn't want her there. No one wanted her. She ripped herself out of Orihime's arms and with eyes full of betrayal, she ran. She could hear them calling out for her from behind, but she didn't listen. She just ran and ran.

. . .

Tatsuki found her several hours later curled up in an alley way. Hinata had seen Aunt Kitty, Chad, Orihime, Jinta, Ururu, and even Uncle Tessai all look down the alley she was in, but they all seemed to look through her. She had been right; they didn't want her. She couldn't help anyone. Just like she had watched Ichigo being hurt and she hadn't been able to help him at all!

That was why Hinata was so surprised when Tatsuki found her.

"Hinata!" She yelled from the mouth of the alley before coming over. When Hinata didn't respond, she squatted down beside her. "Hey, what's wrong?" When no response came she tried another approach. "You know everyone has been looking for you and they are really worried about you."

"They don't care about me. I can't help them." Hinata whispered.

"Don't say that! They love you, Hinata." Hinata shook her head. Tatsuki gave a sigh. "Well, I'm going to call them and let them know that you are okay."

Tatsuki was surprised when Hinata's head shot up. "NO!"

"What?"

"Please," she replied in a quieter voice, "please don't tell them where I am."

Tatsuki looked a little shocked, but replied, "I won't." Then she moved further down the alley but close enough that she could still see Hinata. Hinata listened as Tatsuki told Orihime that she had found Hinata, but that she didn't want to see anyone else. She promised to take care of her until school started again. With that Tatsuki came back and gently pulled Hinata to her feet. "It's going to be okay, Hinata," she said, pushing back Hinata's hair. "I'm taking you to my house for summer break; it's going to be okay."

Hinata followed her but couldn't find it in herself to believe what Tatsuki said

. . .

Hinata was greeted by a woman at the door who took one look at her and told Tatsuki to go and warm up a bath. Hinata sat in the shower for almost an hour before Tatsuki knocked on the door, asking if she was okay. When she finally came out, Tatsuki gave her a pair of her old pajamas that where a little too short for Hinata's taller frame. Hinata found herself smile slightly.

At dinner, she was bombarded by a hundred questions from Tatsuki's younger brothers. She found as she sat with Tatsuki's family, her heart's light began to glow again. This was a family, a big warm family. By the end of dinner, she was laughing and teasing the younger boys. She missed the look that passed between Tatsuki and her mother that held gratitude and hope.

For the next six days, Hinata went everywhere with Tatsuki. She found that the closer she was to her, the better she felt. Tatsuki had even entered her in as many Karate tournaments as she could for the time that they would be together. Hinata was now the proud owner of ten 1st place metals and one silver medal, where Tatsuki had managed to trip her. Orihime had tried to stop by several times, but Hinata had always hidden.

"Hinata," Tatsuki sighed, "you are going to have to face them all when summer ends you know."

"I don't know if I can," Hinata said in a quiet voice.

Tatsuki sighed again. "Hinata, I don't really know what is happening, but from the little bits I have been able to piece together, I think that if they have hurt you in any way they are doing it to protect you. We all care about you a lot and want you to be happy."

"But Uryu hates me."

She rolled her eyes. "He will get over it. Hinata, you are so sweet no one could ever stay mad at you for long. You need to go and see them all and talk about it. If all you do is hold it inside, it will never solve anything."

Hinata was quiet for a moment as she thought that maybe that was the reason they hadn't told her what they were doing. They thought it was dangerous and didn't want to let her get hurt. If that was the case, she would just have to show them that she was strong too. "Thanks, Tatsuki."  
. . .

And that was how Hinata found herself sneaking into Uncle Kisuke's shop. It was the middle of the night and she could feel that Tessai and her cousins where asleep, but Uncle Kisuke and Ichigo where downstairs fighting. She hesitantly made her way to the trap door that would lead to the basement. She smiled when she saw it was open. Taking a deep breath, she looked down into the training room. She watched for several minutes as Ichigo and Uncle Kisuke fought; she could tell that Uncle Kisuke had the upper hand. It was clearly a one-sided fight. Yet as she watched, she saw that Ichigo was indeed stronger than he had been before. Uncle Kisuke was right in that regard.

She looked up at the ceiling; she needed to become stronger. She couldn't fall behind. She felt eyes on her then. She looked down to see that Uncle Kisuke was looking up at her. As soon as he began to move though, she vanished once again into the night.

. . .

She found the same thing with Chad and Orihime. They were both training hard with Aunt Kitty. She felt their desire to protect and help. When she visited Uryu, she made sure to stand farther back. He seemed to be having the most trouble. It was like he wasn't able to focus. She needed to make it up to him the most, she realized.

Writing a small note, she told him how she was sorry and tried to explain the best she could without breaking her promise with Ulquiorra. She left the note at the door along with the silver chopsticks he had given her for her birthday before leaving.

As she walked away, she decided she was ready. Uncle Kisuke had said ten days; she still had three days to become stronger. She had told Tatsuki that she felt better and that she would be able to go home now. Three days, three days is all she had to make right what she had done wrong.

. . .

Sweat dripped down her back. She had never been more thankful for the fact that she was an arrancar until now. After taking off her gigai, she hadn't needed to sleep during the last three days. She had trained with both Masaki and Nikko nonstop. She looked up at the sky one last time as she swung Nikko over her shoulder the way that Ichigo did. As she had gotten older, the sword had lengthened over six inches. With her hair tied back in a ponytail and her quincy cross around her neck, she started out towards Uncle Kisuke's shop.

She knew deep down that they wouldn't let her go. It would be dangerous, but she had learned from Nikko that there was no way they would be able to stop her.

She had almost left the clearing when she felt a garganta open. She turned around with a raised eye brow that turned into a smile when she saw Ulquiorra come out. She ran to him, giving him a big hug. "Ulquiorra!"

He gave a smile and hugged her back. "You can come back now. It has died down enough that it is safe for now."

Her eyes went wide. "I can't go back with you now, Ulqui! I have to go and help my friends."

Ulquiorra looked her up and down; she looked ready for war. He wanted to stop her, to take her back with him, but he had a feeling in his heart that she needed to help her friends. She was looking for something that she needed, and if he stopped her she would never fully heal. "Be careful."

She flashed one of her renowned smiles before hugging him and running off. "I love you! I'll see you when I get back!"

. . .

Hinata hid in the corner of the training ground as she watched everyone arrive. She gave a smile when she saw Uryu arrive. Uncle Kisuke seemed to be giving a speech about what they were doing. When he opened the gate that would take them to the soul society, she ran up and slipped in with the others. As the door was closing, she let her cloak fall, allowing Uncle Kisuke to see her. She gave a wave and blew him a kiss. His eyes went wide as he went to take a step forward, calling for her to come back as the door closed, locking her inside with the others.

. . .

After the door closed behind Hinata, she looked back at the group. As they were all standing looking around, Hinata cast her eyes about and thought it looked rather gross compared to the inside of a garganta. It almost seemed to be . . . melting? Hinata turned to look at Orihime as she spoke, "This is. . ."

Ichigo answered, "Dangai!"

Hinata gave a small giggle at the look on Uryu's face, as if he didn't know what was happening.

"Move!" Aunt Kitty yelled out from the front. "Stop zoning out! Run! The Kourbyuu will close in!"

They had been running for several minutes. Well, Hinata was really skipping along in front of the group.

"It. . . it really caught up with us!" Uryu yelled. "The parts we've passed through are falling!"

"If you have time to look behind you, why not run faster! If you're caught by the kourbyuu, you're finished!" At Aunt Kitty's yell, Hinata stopped running, letting them all pass before grabbing Uryu's hand and pulling him forward. She felt a tug and he gave a cry as his coat was caught by the kourbyuu. She gave a hard yank and he cried out as it broke free. He looked confused at his hand as he seemed to be being pulled forward.

He gave another look back. "Guys, it looks like something is coming!"

Hinata turned back, still pulling Uryu and keeping him in the middle of the pack when she saw what looked like a light approaching. As she watched, she was surprised to see a massive boulder racing towards them.

"What. . . what is that?!" Uryu yelled.

"That's 'Seimichio'! He's the 'janitor' that comes out every 7 days. . . but, why today!?" Aunt Kitty yelled back. "Anyway, let's get out of here! He is really fast! Hurry! We're almost there!"

Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. If Aunt Kitty was worried it must be bad; she pulled Uryu closer to the front to make sure he was safe. She could see the light of the exit just ahead, but when she looked over her shoulder, she found that it was right behind them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Orihime stop in the middle of the path. She let go of Uryu, pushing him forward as she reached out to grab her.

"Himusaku, Umeigen, Ririi, Santenyuitate! I reject!" Orihime yelled out just as Hinata wrapped her arms around the girl. There was a blinding light before Hinata felt herself, along with Orihime, being thrown back.

Hinata felt herself land along with Orihime. When the smoke cleared, she found that they were floating on an orange triangle. As Hinata reached out to it, she found that it was made of the same spiritual pressure as Orihime. Looking up, she burst out laughing. Both Uryu and Ichigo had landed strangely and Aunt Kitty was completely spread out. Chad was the only one other than her and Orihime to have landed normally.

"You guys alright?" Orihime asked, then her eyes fell on Ichigo and she jumped up clapping her hands. "Hah! Kurosaki's landing pose is so awesome! Oh, did one of you grab me?"

They all looked confused at each other before Ichigo spoke up, "I didn't grab you."

Everyone else shook their heads as well.

"Did someone grab you, Orihime?" Uryu asked.

"Yeah!"

"I also felt that someone had grabbed me when we were running."

Orihime clapped her hands. "We must have a guardian angel!"

Hinata found herself smiling; she liked the sound of being a guardian angel.

The smoke finally cleared all the way, showing that they were in a town. While the others were looking around, Hinata faced north. She could feel Rukia's spiritual pressure, but it was far away. She could almost make out a tower in the distance that Rukia's spirit pressure seemed to be coming from. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked. There was something though that seemed to be blocking them from her. She was trying to place it when Ichigo shot past her, running.

Hinata heard Aunt Kitty yell out from behind her, "Idio. . . Idiot! You can't go near there! You could die!"

As Aunt Kitty spoke, Hinata had felt the feeling of danger descend on her, and she looked up towards it to see what appeared to be a wall falling down to the ground. In a heartbeat, Hinata was beside Ichigo, grabbing his robe and pulling him back, sending him skidding on the dirt. The wall came within a hair's breadth of her nose as it hit the ground with a thunderous sound.

Hinata gave a sigh of relief when she heard Ichigo coughing behind her; he was okay. She turned to see a large Shinigami standing in what looked to be a gate. "It's been such a long time since someone tried to go through Torureimon without a pass. Finally, I have something to do. I'll treat you nice, kid!"

Hinata watched for a little bit as they all fought the larger man, but she felt she didn't need to worry about them, that they would be fine. She was also distracted by the approach of a very sad soul. He was on the other side of the wall, but he seemed to be lost. She subconsciously dodged when a piece of an ax flew over her head. She put her hand out to the wall. The spirit seemed as if it was trying hard to hide something, but at the same time was hurting himself by doing so.

She turned to the side in surprise to see the big Shinigami lifting up the gate. As soon as it was tall enough to walk under, she quickly entered. There she was met with the owner of the sad spiritual pressure. It was a tall man that Hinata had to tilt her head back to look at. He had silver hair and his eyes looked to be closed. He was giving a small stretched smile that did nothing to show the eternal struggle he was facing.

"Who is this guy?" Ichigo asked.

The large Shinigami replied, "The third captain, Ichimaru . . .Gin . . ."

Hinata looked back at the man; so, his name is Gin. She felt a slight rise in his spiritual pressure. She took a step left, not sure why, when Gin spoke, "Ah, this is not allowed." With that, Hinata felt a brush of air across her face, she watched as a long sword extended until it cut off the arm of the large Shinigami. "That's too bad. You are a gatekeeper. Opening the door is not your duty."

Hinata looked back at Gin. She could feel that he found no pleasure in what he just did even though his face seemed to show that he enjoyed it a great deal. He took a step past her. She watched as he traded words with the gate keeper before Ichigo was charging in, clashing swords with Gin. She could tell that Ichigo at this moment was no match for Gin, but he didn't seem to have any desire to really hurt Ichigo, so she just watched them fight. It was all fine until Gin called Ichigo by his name. She felt an almost sigh fluctuate from Gin before he launched his sword at Ichigo, throwing him into the gatekeeper and slamming both of them outside.

Hinata looked up to hear the cries of her friends about Ichigo and that the gate was closing. Hinata dropped her cloak, waving good bye to them as Gin leaned over and did the same thing. She watched their eyes go wide. "Hinata!" They all yelled as the door finished closing.


	23. Chapter 21 Adventures in the Seireitei

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 21 Adventures in the Seireitei

Hinata watched as Gin opened his eyes wide and looked around for a moment. "Hinata? Did I miss one?" Once satisfied that he hadn't missed anyone, he closed his eyes and began to walk away. Hinata gave one last look at the gate and felt to make sure that her friends were okay before she followed Gin into the Seireitei.

Hinata just followed him quietly. She didn't know what to do with Gin, but she wanted to help him. They had only walked for twenty minutes when a loud voice boomed out over the Seireitei: "Attention all Captains! Attention all Captains! Your presence is required for an emergency meeting." Gin didn't even look up, but once again she felt his spiritual pressure rise. She tilted her head. He seemed to go slightly slower to her this time as he walked. As they drew closer to the center of the Seireitei, she could feel her uncomfortableness grow since she had entered the Seireitei. It was like a dark presence had infected the place and was reaching out to all the corners. When they got to the foot of a large building, she looked up. The source of the darkness was coming from this building. She couldn't bring herself to enter and get closer to it, so she reached out and touched Gin, connecting him to her. He stiffened under her touch and swung around, trying to grab her, but she was already far enough away that he couldn't touch her. He opened his eyes again and appeared to be looking around, trying to find her. When he didn't, he turned around and entered the building.

Hinata wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't want to be here when the dark spiritual pressure came out, so she left. She traveled for several minutes before the sound of swords clashing caused her to go to a building with a big eleven painted above the door.

She felt an interesting spiritual pressure coming from one of the back corners by itself. She hopped from head to head to get across and she gave a giggle as a bald man at the front of the group yelled at them to straighten up!

She found the spiritual pressure as he exited the room. He was a little taller than her with chin length black hair along with an orange piece of cloth wrapped around his neck, but what set him apart from the others she had seen was the fact that he had two red feathers sticking up from his eye brow and two yellow ones coming from the corner of his eye. She found it all very pretty.

She felt her cloak slip. "Pretty."

The man jumped, turning around with his hand at his sword. "Who are you?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm Hinata, and I love the way you look!"

His eyes went wide before a smile broke across his face. "I'm so glad that you noticed! All the bone heads here never seem to be able to appreciate the beauty that I have!" At Hinata's nod he continued, "My name is Yumichika." He seemed to pause then as he looked her up and down. "You know, my dear, with a little help you would be able to be beautiful like me. Wait here!" He rushed back into the room. Hinata peaked around the corner to see things flying through the air before he stood up triumphantly. "Here, we can start with this." He pushed some clothes into her hands before pushing her into another room. "Try them on!"

Several minutes later, Hinata came out. Yumichika seemed to squeal at the sight of her. He rushed over and began pulling on her clothes until she was perfectly wearing a Shinigami black robe with a yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. Yumichika pulled gently at her hair, which had been tucked into the scarf. He looked her up and down. Nodding he said, "It looks good, but we are missing something. Wait right here." He went back to throwing things through the air. Something red flew past her face; she reached out and grabbed it. It was a red feather. A second later, her hand shot out again, pulling a yellow one out of the air. She looked at them before putting them together and placing them under her hollow mask so they hung in her hair.

"What about this?" she called out to Yumichika, who looked up and smiled again.

"Perfect! My dear, you are beautiful now!"

"Hey, Yumichika!" a load voice called out from down the hall. "You slacking again? Get out here!"

"Well, Hinata, it appears that it is time for me to go. Feel free to stop by again!" he called, sending a wave over his shoulder before he left.

. . .

Hinata was skipping down the streets smiling as she passed Shinigami giving each of them a cheerful wave. They all stared after her like they weren't entirely sure what had just happened. She had just started humming when she rounded a corner and was surprised to see that there was a Shinigami squatting in the middle of the path.

She skidded to a stop but the Shinigami didn't even look up. He was intently focused on whatever was in front of him. "What are you doing?" She asked, leaning in.

The boy gave a yelp and jumped up, turning to face her and moving to block whatever was behind him. "Wha. . . What do you want?" The boy stuttered out; he looked like he was shaking.

Hinata gave a small laugh, "I just said, silly!" She tried to look around the boy, but he would move with her to prevent her from seeing. When she stood on her tippy toes, even though she was taller than him, she still couldn't see. She gave a sigh. "Why won't you show me what you were doing?"

He blushed. "I. . . I wasn't doing anything."

As he was stammering, Hinata took her chance and ducked under his outstretched arms. Before her was a simple yellow flower that was growing out of a crack in the sidewalk. "It's so pretty! Why were you hiding it?"

Startled, the boy turned to see her kneeing next to the flower. He knelt down next to her, casting her a sideways glance before he went back to digging around the flower. "Most other people would make fun of me or would just step on it and laugh at me."

Hinata gave a gasp. "That's so mean!"

He nodded his head as he stood up with the flower in his hands. "I know. My name's Hanataro Yamada, by the way, what's yours?"

"My name is Hinata Kurosaki! Hanataro, why do you care about the flower if others don't?"

He gave a little sigh and smiled up at her. "It's probably because I'm in the fourth. I just can't stand to see something die, and it was so beautiful I just couldn't let it die."

"Can you heal things?"

Hanataro jumped a little. "Why of course! That's what the fourth does!" He seemed to stand tall and yell this at her, but when he realized what he had done, he took a step back and his shoulders slumped. "Sorry about that."

"Are you good?"

"Well, ummm . . . I am a seated member . . . and Captain Unohana says I need to keep working . . ." he mumbled, but then his chest puffed out proudly, "but that I will be great one day!"

Hinata gave a smile. "If I ever need healing I will make sure to come to you," she said proudly. She reached out and gave Hanataro a big hug, attaching a spiritual tread to him. At that moment, she felt that Gin had left the building along with several other strong people who were separating. "I have to go; see you later Hanataro!"  
. . .

Hinata stopped in her tracks, looking up at the building in front of her. It had a big letter eight right above the door. When she had left Hanataro she had felt the draw of someone with a large amount of spiritual pressure. It had taken her a while to get here because she had gotten side tracked a couple of times, but as she stood before the door she could feel the spiritual pressure inside. She was in the right place.

It was hard to describe what drew her to this one. She would almost say that it was a feeling of deep regret, but there was something more to it then she could feel. She allowed her cloak to cover herself again before she entered. As she walked, she saw a severe looking woman with glasses pass her saying something about a drunk.

Hinata gave a smile; she was almost there. She had just turned the corner when she saw a bright pink kimono with flowers. She was so excited that her cloak dropped. She raced forward, hugging the pink kimono from behind! She let out a squeal, "It's so pretty!" She felt the form beneath her embrace stiffen before it relaxed again. She was surprised when a man turned to look at her with a large straw hat on his head and a rough beard.

"Why, what do we have here?" he said with a smile.

Hinata smiled back. "I love your pink Kimono!"

He gave a chuckle. "Do you, little lady?" Hinata gave a vigorous nod. He chuckled again. "Well then why don't you come around front so that I can talk to you?"

Hinata jumped off the man's back and walked around him to flop on the floor in front of him with a big smile on her face. The man seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes. "Well, it might be a little late for introductions, but my name is Shunsui Kyoraku. And what might yours be?" He tilted his hat towards her.

She giggled, reaching out and gently tapped his hat herself. He seemed surprised by this. "My name is Hinata Kurosaki!"

"Well, Miss Kurosaki. . ."

"Hinata!" she corrected with enthusiasm.

He gave another chuckle. "Well then, Hinata, might I ask how you got in here?"

"I walked in!"

He tipped his hat again, smiling, before looking up. "What squad are you?"

"I'm in Gin's."

"You're in Caption Ichimaru's squad?"

"Yep, I'm in Gin's!"

Shunsui raised an eyebrow, "and what brought you here, Hinata?"

"I was looking around while I waited for him."

"Well, he should be back now that the caption's meeting has ended."

Hinata looked at him before turning and facing where she could feel Gin's spiritual pressure, and she frowned. "He's with someone not nice right now."

Shunsui tipped his hat up. "How do you know?"

"There is a mean spiritual pressure with him right now, and I don't want to meet the mean person."

Shunsui reached out his own spiritual pressure; it was almost at its limits before he found Gin's spiritual pressure. He had a puzzled look when he turned back to Hinata. "Captain Ichimaru is not with a bad person. He is with Caption Aizen, one of the nicest captions we have."

Hinata shook her head, shivering. "No, it is a nasty spiritual pressure. It makes me feel sick just being near it."

Shunsui wrapped her in a half hug, pulling her closer. "You don't have to fear him; he is a good man." She shook her head. He gave a sigh but held her close. He had a lot to think about. He felt that the girl didn't quite belong in the Seireitei, but at the same time she seemed to fit right in. He looked down at her; she was looking out the doors at the setting sun. He gave another sigh. If they had had such an exemplary Shinigami like her in the third division, he would have thought Gin would have said something. They sat like that until Shunsui heard Nanao stop outside the door. In that moment, Hinata moved. Faster than he could grab her, she was on her feet and standing on the balcony.

"Goodbye Shunsui!" With that she jumped off the ledge.

He was looking over the edge trying to find her, but as soon as she left he realized the entire time she had been there he had never felt her spiritual pressure. He didn't turn when Nanao finally entered the room. She paused for a moment in surprise when he didn't run towards her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her before looking back down at the ground for the bright orange hair. "Looking for a ghost."

. . .

Hisagi sat swinging his sword. He had long since been drenched in sweat. His breath came in ragged gasps.

"You know you are hurting him."

He swung around with his sword raised. On the wall looking down at him was an orange haired Shinigami with a yellow scarf. How had she been able to sneak up on him? "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"Your soul is at war with itself."

"What?"

She jumped off the wall, landing in front of him before reaching out and lightly tapping his sword. "Your Zanpakuto is crying out in pain. It wants to be united with you, but you fear and hate it. The only way it knew to save itself was to respond in the same way. If you don't stop it will eventually rip your soul apart."

Hisagi took a step back, looking down at his sword. He had felt the slight hum it had given at the strange girl's words, but when he looked up again to question her, he found that she was gone!

. . .

Hinata had only been walking for a few minutes when she heard a squeal. Startled, she looked up to see a pink and black form grab her, pulling her face down into something soft and squishy. She was still sitting there when she realized she couldn't breathe! She pushed back against her assailant, but the person seemed to be happy and was swinging her from side to side. Just when Hinata thought for sure she would die, she was let go. She fell to her knees taking in several deep breaths. When she looked up she was surprised to see her attacker squatting in front of her, barely five inches in front of her. Hinata threw herself back. She took a good look at the woman in front of her.

It was a tall woman, probably taller than Hinata was, with long, wavy blonde hair and wearing a pink sash. Hinata didn't feel any animosity from the woman, just sadness. When see looked closer, she could see that she had a small tattered cord of spiritual pressure attaching her to another. Hinata followed it and was surprised to see that it was attached to Gin. So this is why he was so sad!

"Did you know that you are super cute!?" the woman in front of her said. "My name is Matsumoto Rangiku, but you can just call me Rangiku. How long have you been here? Why have I never seen you before? Can you drink? Perfect, come with me!" Without another thought, Rangiku had grabbed Hinata and began to drag her off.

A few minutes later, Hinata found herself across from Rangiku in a small building with a few other people. Rangiku kept tossing back glasses and was getting redder and redder in the face as time passed on. Hinata had looked in the cup she had been given, but remembered Uncle Kisuke and Aunt Kitty had tried to give her some at the beginning of the year. Uncle Tessai had said she wasn't old enough. So Hinata just watched Rangiku drink more and more.

"You should join the women's association," Rangiku slurred.

Hinata just smiled; she had found that usually seemed to make the other woman happy even though Hinata had no idea what half of the things she said were. She found that even though Rangiku was weird, she was sincerely nice. It hurt her though as she watched her drink more and more. It felt that Rangiku drank to hide from the pain that she had because of Gin.

The sun looked to just be starting to come out when the man behind the counter told them they had to leave. Rangiku was so drunk that Hinata asked the man where she lived so that she could take her home. With directions to a building with a number ten above the door, Hinata took off.

She led her in without much problem. There had been several Shinigami along the way who had offered to take Rangiku from her, but when they spoke, Rangiku would grab her arm and say no! Hinata giggled at this each time. When she had finally gotten her to her room and tucked her in, she felt a small but powerful presence approaching. Hinata had just stood up when Rangiku's door was flung open.

"Matsumoto!" Hinata watched as a small, white haired boy with a white cloak like Gin's entered the room. He seemed surprised to see her as well. He reached as if to draw his sword. "Who are you?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Rangiku sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Why are you yelling so early in the morning?"

The boy looked like he wanted to strangle her, but kept back as he watched Hinata. "Who is this, Matsumoto?"

She looked over to see Hinata. "My friend. I met her last night and her name is. . ."

The boy gave a growl. "You don't even know her name!" He rushed forward and began to hit her on the head. Hinata, not feeling any true animosity from the boy, gave a small giggle as she edged towards the door. As much as the boy would never admit it, he truly cared for Rangiku.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Hinata looked back at the boy. "I'm going back to Gin."

His eyes opened wide before narrowing. "What do you want with Caption Ichimaru?"

"He's my captain."

His eyes remained narrowed. She was just about out the door when once again he called out, "What is your name?"

"Hinata." And with that she was gone.

. . .

Gin looked over his shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time today. He had felt like there had been someone following him since he had locked the Ichigo boy outside. There was also the fact that they had all called out for someone who he hadn't seen. At one point when he had been with Aizen, he had even felt what he would describe as a gentle tug on his spiritual pressure.

As it was, he stood in the door of his office looking out at the rising sun. Another day of deceit lay ahead. According to Lord Aizen, it would begin today. All their plans he had been carefully laying down for years would come to light in the next few days. He turned leaving the light in favor of the darkness that was his office. Sitting at his desk, he gazed at what was left of the stack of paper work.

"You are hurting her."

He stiffened slightly before plastering his small narrow smile on before turning to see a Shinigami who appeared to be a teenager with feathers in her long orange hair. He couldn't help opening his eyes slightly more for a better look. It was definitely the girl that had been driving Aizen crazy over the past several months because he could never find her when he wanted to.

"You look better when your eyes are open." His eyes flew open at this. "See, they are a beautiful blue! She misses them a lot."

He closed his eyes to slits once more before leaning back leisurely, even though on the inside he had been unsettled. "And who might that be?"

"Rangiku." The girl stated mater of factly.

He had to force his eyes not to open in surprise. "Oh, you mean the large breasted woman under the child captain?"

"No, I mean the woman who you love, but are killing on the inside because you are trying to protect her without her knowing."

This time he jumped up and flew to where she was standing only to find that she was gone.

"You are doing all you can to protect her, but slowly you are killing the link that connects you together."

He turned to see her standing by his desk now. "What do you mean?" He hated the fact that he could make out a trace of fear in his voice.

The girl closed her eyes and waved her hand before reopening them. To his surprise, soul ribbons appeared, filling his office. His eyes opened wide again as slowly the ribbons began to vanish until there where only a few left in the room. She walked up, pulling a red ribbon that looked like it had been eaten by acid. "This is your ribbon." His eyes went big as she handed it to him. She then grabbed a small thread that was attached to his ribbon. He followed it with his eyes to another ribbon that seemed to slowly be melting away. She grabbed it and handed it to him as well. "This is her ribbon."

Gin almost dropped it. No, this couldn't be her ribbon, but even as he thought it he could feel her spiritual pressure coming from it, dragging him towards the tenth division. He looked back up at the girl. "Why does it look like mine?"

She reached down and held up the thread. "This thread is what makes it that way. You are both connected together. Because you are stronger then she is, your spiritual pressure travels the thread occasionally to maintain it. Your wellbeing is passed to her. Because you are hurting yourself, it is hurting her." She gently grabbed Rangiku's ribbon from him. "The only way to heal it is to heal yours first."

"I can't though. This is to save her!"

"By you trying to save her, you are slowly killing her."

Gin frantically tried to look at anything but the sad ribbon in front of him. What he found was surprising. There was a second thread attached to his ribbon, but it had several colors instead of just red. He followed it to a large ribbon of red, white, blue, and black. How had he not seen it before? He reached out to touch it before a hand appeared on his arm, stopping him. "That's my ribbon."

"Why am I attached to yours?"

"Yesterday when I meet you I attached mine to yours."

Yesterday? He hadn't met her. . . he remembered the cries of Ichigo and his group as the gate closed. "Hinata?"

"Yep!"

But that was impossible! He would have seen her! How had she been there much less been able to attach herself to him? As he looked at her ribbon his eyes went wide again. Her ribbon had countless threads that come off dozens of other ribbons, if not more. When he looked, he could even see one coming off of Rangiku's ribbon. He was still looking at the ribbon when it vanished. He looked up at the girl.

"Rangiku is my friend, and you are as well. In order to help you both, you need to change. Stop hurting her."

He just looked at her. "I never meant to hurt her."

At that Hinata reached forward, giving him a hug. "I know. You wanted to help her, but you never would have if you had known the pain it would cause."

Gin sat like that for a long time. He didn't pull away until he heard Kira coming down the walkway. At that moment, Hinata pulled away from him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before she ran to the back of his office and out the window just as Kira opened the door.

. . . . . . .

Author Notes

So we realized that people have been asking a lot of questions and we haven't had time to answer them so here are some answers.

 **Lizyeh2000** : Thanks for following. Ichigo and Hinata won't be a couple because they are siblings.

 **Lifethroughanotherseyes** : Uryu finds out that they are siblings because Kisuke in chapter 19 after Rukia is taken says: "Rukia just saved your brother." Uryu is awake at this time and hears it. So in regards to why no one saw her in the alley is because of her cloak. Her cloak does make her invisible, she is just not aware when she is hiding in the alley that she is using it. On the topic of Kuon, he was looking for her but just never found the alley.


	24. Chapter 22 Events set in Motion

I do not own Bleach

So it has come to our attention that we believe people may have forgotten that Hinata is a six year old in a 15 year old's body. This came about because she was born as an arrancar and in a desire to save herself, her body aged rapidly which is why she appears to be six. For the first several chapters she acts like a child her age, but when she started to attend school with Ichigo her mental growth moved forward as well. She has matured very quickly, but she is still acts and speaks like a six year old most of the time.

Chapter 22 – Events set in Motion

Gin had just finished his paper work when there was a knock at the door. He looked up and frowned at the spiritual pressure outside the door. "Enter."

Captain Hitsugaya walked in with Rangiku right behind him. She seemed to be looking around the room.

"What can I do for you, Captain Hitsugaya?"

The boy gave a growl and glared up at Rangiku. "She wants to play with one of your squad and she promised that if I let her see the girl that she would do all of her work."

"Why did you come with her?"

He could see the boy's distrust in him before he answered, "Because, if I had let her go on her own she would never have come back."

Gin gave a smirk. "Who is it you are looking for, Rangiku?"

She gave a small jump at being called. "Hinata."

Gin had to stop himself from showing his surprise. "Who again?"

Rangiku looked him in the eyes. "Hinata. She is just a few inches shorter than me with long orange hair and wears a yellow scarf around her neck along with some feathers in her hair."

How had Rangiku met Hinata? "You do know that I have hundreds if not more under me."

The boy growled again. "I told you we wouldn't be able to find her." He grabbed Rangiku and began pulling her out of the room.

Gin gave a small wave as they left. Why did they think that Hinata was in his squad? He barely had time to look down at his desk before another knock came at the door and it opened to show Caption Kyoraku with his straw head walking in.

"What did you do to Captain Histugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto?"

"They were looking for someone I didn't know."

He gave a chuckle. "Well, hopefully you can help me better. I'm looking for someone as well – a girl under you named Hinata Kurosaki?"

"Well, that's three people in a row I will have to disappoint then. I do not know where she is."

Captain Kyoraku gave a sigh. "That's too bad. When you see her, tell her to stop by at my place anytime she wants."

Gin watched in shock as the other man left his office. How did so many people know her?

. . .

Uryu couldn't take it anymore. Ichigo was wasting precious time; what imbecile couldn't control their spirit pressure?! The faster he mastered Kukaku's spirit orb, the faster they would be able to get into the Seireitei and find Hinata. Grumbling to himself, he pulled out the chopsticks he had given her for her birthday and reread the note she had left. He was still mad that she had lied to him, but she was so innocent that he couldn't blame her for doing as she was told. Now he was angry with Ichigo for telling her to lie to everyone about who she really was.

Orihime seemed to sense Uryu's irritation and chatted with Chad in the corner while they waited for Ichigo. Clenching the chopsticks in his fist, Uryu began to probe for Hinata's spirit energy. It was very faint on the other side of the wall, but she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. He tried to imagine what she was doing, and then shook his head with a small smile. Hinata was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"It's time," Mr. Yoruichi said at last, and they all hurried to meet with Ichigo again. Before long, they were outside and preparing to enter the cannon.

"What about you, Mr. Yoruichi?" Ichigo was asking of their feline companion.

They all watched as Mr. Yoruichi perfectly formed a spirit orb; Ichigo was frustrated that he was the only one who had struggled to master it. "Let's go," Uryu urged, annoyed that Ichigo didn't seem to care that Hinata was alone on the other side of the wall. Everybody looked at him, surprised.

They gathered into the cannon, but were once again delayed when Kukaku's brother, Ganju, ran up insisting that he was going with them. Uryu tried not to show his irritation. Instead, he pushed up his glasses and took his position. Glancing upward as Kukaku began to chant, Uryu searched again for Hinata's spirit pressure. He was coming to get her.

. . .

Hinata paused and looked up at the sky, smiling. Ichigo and the others were finally coming. Laughing to herself, she made her way down the street again, sliding past the swarm of Shinigami unnoticed as they rushed to their positions. Turning a corner, she was surprised to find a small Shinigami with bright pink hair skipping down the alley. Curious, Hinata followed the girl.

Something didn't make sense. The girl felt more similar to Nikko then the other Shinigami. Hinata tried to puzzle it out as she followed the girl when the girl suddenly turned around to face Hinata. "Why are you hiding?" the girl with the pink hair asked.

Surprised, Hinata let go of her cloak. "You could see me?"

The girl with the pink hair giggled. "No, you were invisible. Why were you hiding?" she repeated.

Hinata smiled, instantly liking this girl. "I was playing a game."

The girl tilted her head to the side and smiled wider. "I like games. I'm Yachiru! What's your name?"

"I'm Hinata," Hinata said with an answering smile.

Yachiru grabbed Hinata's hand. "You should come meet Kenny!"

Smiling, Hinata let the Yachiru lead her through the Seireitei to the same place where she had met Yumichika. As they neared the place, Hinata felt the presence of a sad spirit pressure. Frowning, she asked Yachiru, "Is your friend sad?"

Yachiru looked up with a smile. "Kenny just wants to find a new friend. You'll see!"

A large man with spiky black hair stormed into the street ahead of them, his head turned towards the sky. Bells jingled from the ends of his hair when his head moved. Hinata giggled when she saw that the man wore an eyepatch too. He turned to look at them. Yachiru let go of Hinata's hand and ran towards the man. "Kenny! I found a new friend. Look!"

The man looked Hinata over, then turned his head to spit. "Who's she, Yachiru? Is she a Ryoka?"

"No, silly," Yachiru laughed. "She's my friend!"

Hinata smiled. "I'm with Gin."

Kenny frowned. "Captain Ichimaru? I didn't know he got any new recruits."

Hinata just smiled. Now that Yachiru was hanging from Kenny's shoulder, he didn't seem so lonely anymore.

Alarms rang through the Seireitei at that moment, causing Kenny to look skyward again. Hinata could sense it too; Ichigo and the others were about to break into the Seireitei.

"Time to go!" Hinata said with a wave. "Nice meeting you! I'll see you later!" Yachiru waved back as Kenny began running the other direction.

. . .

Isane started to run as the alarms sounded. She was late, and the Captain didn't like it when she was late. Fumbling with the sheets in her arms, Isane tripped and crashed into a young girl with long orange hair. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized as she gathered the sheets up in her arms once again.

"That's okay," the girl said with a smile, helping her gather the fallen sheets before continuing down the road, skipping.

Isane ran off again in too much of a rush to ponder on what had just happened. As she skidded into the fourth squad's quarters she realized that she had never met the young Shinigami before. Was the orange haired girl new? Fourth squad had treated just about everybody's wounds at one time or another, and Isane thought she knew everyone.

"Is something wrong, Lieutenant?" Captain Unohana asked, drawing Isane's attention back.

"No, Captain," Isane said, blushing.

"Good. Let's get back to work."

. . .

Hinata paused once again, searching for everyone's spirit pressure. They'd been separated when they'd entered the Seireitei. Chad had been the first to land, somehow escaping injury and avoiding notice. Orihime and Uryu had ended up together, and seemed to be unhurt also thanks to Orihime's abilities. Aunt Kitty was alone in another part of the Seireitei. Ichigo was with an unfamiliar spirit pressure, but seemed to be alright as well. Close to Ichigo, however, were Yumichika and his friend.

Hinata stood still as she tracked the progress of their fights – none of them could hide forever – and considered whether she should meet up with any of them. For now they all seemed safe, so she decided to go find Ichigo. Once again, she had her cloak up and hid from the other Shinigami, gliding past them as they ran around in groups. Everyone was looking for her friends.

By the time Hinata made her way to where Ichigo had been fighting, he was gone. His opponent, however, lay on the ground staring up at the sky, chuckling every now and then. Hinata tilted her head to the side and then slowly approached the man while dropping her cloak. Surprisingly, he had regained enough energy to move again. He gripped his sword and swung out at Hinata.

"Another Ryoka?" he growled. "Just my luck!"

He struggled to his feet, panting heavily as he leaned on his sword. Hinata stood just out of his range, watching him. She could sense that Yumichika was nearby and getting closer. "What's your name?" Hinata asked, stepping slightly to the side when he swung his sword.

"The name's Ikkaku," the man sneered, swinging at her again. "Who are you, Ryoka?"

Hinata danced out of his way, hands behind her back. "I'm not a Ryoka. I'm with Gin."

Ikkaku barked a laugh. "I've never seen you before. Tell me your name, Ryoka!"

Hinata dodged another swing, then reached out to touch the tip of his blade. "You're going to hurt yourself if you don't stop. I don't want to fight you."

Ikkaku's eyes widened in surprise. Who was this girl? "I'm fine! I'll take any of you Ryoka on!"

Hinata, stepped aside once again. Just then, Yumichika rounded the corner and ran to grab Ikkaku as he prepared to swing again. "What are you doing?" Yumichika cried.

"She's a Ryoka!" Ikkaku yelled.

"No she isn't, Ikkaku! Stop swinging your sword!"

Hinata moved inside Ikkaku's range and put her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Yumichika will help you now. You're hurting yourself."

Ikkaku growled as Yumichika dragged him out of Hinata's reach. "Who are you?" he demanded again. He had given up.

"Hinata is the most precious and beautiful young Shinigami I've ever met," Yumichika scolded, forcing Ikkaku to sit down. "She's not any threat to the Seireitei."

Hinata started walking away.

"Hey!" Yumichika called. "I just got here, Hinata!"

Hinata turned and smiled at him. "I have to go find someone. I just wanted to make sure your friend got some help first."

The two men stared at her as she walked away.

. . .

Hinata frowned when she found Ichigo. He was fighting someone else, and his spirit pressure was familiar. She rounded the corner to find an open courtyard where Ichigo was fighting with the same man that had helped kidnap Rukia. She was about to go help Ichigo when she sensed another familiar spiritual energy. Not too far from where she stood were Hanataro and the man Ichigo had entered the Seireitei with.

Hinata looked to Ichigo, and then back at Hanataro. Ichigo was injured, but so was his new opponent. Letting out a sigh, Hinata decided to sit the fight out and watch. Hanataro would heal him when the fight finished. Before long, Ichigo won, leaving the red haired man severely wounded. Ichigo wasn't doing much better though. Hanataro and the other man ran forward and dragged a drooping Ichigo away before more Shinigami arrived.

The newcomers were led by a man with blonde hair that hung in his face. Hinata could sense that this man was close to Gin, but the man was also very sad. He began giving orders, but paused when he looked up and met Hinata's eyes. She smiled at him and then turned around and walked the other direction. As she walked away, she heard him giving orders to save the red haired man.

. . .

Rangiku hated patrolling. She hadn't met a single Ryoka, and to top it all, Captain Hitsugaya had refused to let her return to the barracks for a teensy weeny nap. Frustrated, she rounded a corner and ran into another Shinigami. Preparing a quick apology, Rangiku looked down and found a familiar face looking up at her.

"It's you!" Rangiku cried, sweeping the orange haired girl into a tight hug. "I've been looking all over for you! Come with me!"

The girl massaged her ribs when Rangiku released her. "Are you feeling better?" she asked, her head tilted to the side.

Rangiku laughed. "What a silly question! I feel fine! Come, let's go get something to drink!"

The orange haired girl found herself being dragged into a bar once again with Rangiku.

. . .

Hinata dragged her drunken companion to her bed for a second time. She didn't mind; all of her friends were safe for the time being. Once sure that Rangiku was tucked in snuggly, Hinata decided to go check up on Gin. He was doing paperwork in his barracks when she found him. She slipped in and lowered her cloak.

"Good morning, Gin!" she sang happily, bouncing over to his desk.

He looked up in surprise. "You! You're back!"

"Of course I am, silly," Hinata laughed. "I came to help you."

"I don't need any help," Gin said, turning back to his work.

Hinata wandered around his office, examining his books when an alarm went off. Gin hurried out of his chair and out the door, Hinata close behind him, and muttered, "It's starting."

Hinata followed him through the Seireitei until they came upon a gruesome scene. A young Shinigami stood before a tower, screaming as she stared up at the figure of a man who hung dead high above their heads. Hinata frowned; the dead man wasn't real. She tugged on Gin's robes. "Why is there a fake person on the wall?"

Gin's eyes opened in surprise as he looked back at her. "That's Captain Aizen. He's dead."

"No," Hinata said, shaking her head. "He's not here right now." She pointed up at the dummy on the wall. "That's a fake."

Gin stared at her for a moment, then turned around and decided to ignore her as they drew closer to the scene. The girl who was screaming turned around when Gin approached. "You did this!" she screamed, drawing her blade.

Gin didn't move. Instead, the blonde man Hinata had seen yesterday leapt in front of him, blade drawn while Hinata also moved to block the young woman. "Izuru?" the girl asked, surprised. "Why?"

Gin placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder while his lieutenant answered, "Nobody draws a sword against my captain for any reason!"

The girl was begging. "Please, move out of the way."

When he refused, the girl drew back and called on her blade. Before he could move, Hinata stepped between them, Nikko raised in front of her. The girl's sword released a red ball of energy that Hinata swept aside with a simple swing of her sword. Before anyone else could release another attack, a short, white haired Shinigami dropped between them saying, "Don't move, any of you."

"Toshiro!" the girl said in surprise.

"Arrest them," Toshiro growled, looking around. "Take them away." The other Shinigami grabbed Gin's lieutenant and the girl, which left Hinata standing in the middle of them all. Toshiro stared at her, recognition flashing in his eyes. Gin's eyes were wide too. "Why are you here?"

Hinata backed away until she stood beside Gin once again. "I came to help."

Everyone stared at her.

Gin, in a calm, silky voice said, "I'm sorry my man troubled you Captain."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed. "Ichimaru. Just now . . . you tried to kill Momo, didn't you?"

Hinata stepped forward. "No, he didn't."

There was a shocked silence.

"Excuse me?" Toshiro asked.

"Gin didn't try to kill her. I wouldn't let him if he tried."

"Who are you?" Toshiro asked, a vein twitching at his temple.

"Gin won't hurt any of you. He's a good guy," Hinata said, standing defensively in front of Gin.

"Hinata, don't," Gin said, reaching to grab her shoulder.

The others gathered began to whisper, and one of them called out, "Is she new to your squad, Gin? I didn't know you had a new seated member."

Gin stiffened slightly. Hinata didn't budge. "Yes, she's new," Gin said slowly. "However, she does not have a seat."

The whispers grew louder while Toshiro stared Gin down. "I'm warning you, Captain," Toshiro said, his voice low, "if you make Momo blead, I'll kill you."

"He won't touch her," Hinata said firmly. "Gin wouldn't do that."

Gin pulled Hinata close and hissed in her ear, "What are you doing? You're going to blow my cover."

Hinata looked up at him and shook her head. "You're not a mean person. You wouldn't do those things."

Gin released her and walked away. Hinata was about to follow him again with Toshiro grabbed her arm. "I don't know what you're doing here," he growled, "or why you interfered, but you're coming with me."

Hinata looked towards Gin while Toshiro dragged her away. "Where are we going?"

"I have questions for you," Toshiro said, not looking at her. "My lieutenant has been distracted because of you, and I need her to do her work. You're going to help me."

Hinata sighed and let him drag her along with him. When they found Rangiku, Toshiro dragged her along too.

"Captain!" Rangiku whined. "Shouldn't I be patrolling?"

"You have paperwork," Toshiro growled, "and you're not leaving this room until it's all finished. It's all your fault that I went on a wild goose chase searching for this girl."

Rangiku glanced at Hinata who shrugged.

"Remember her name yet?"

"Ummm . . ." Rangiku said, turning red.

"That's what I thought. According to her captain, her name is Hinata. Now, get to work." Toshiro stormed out of the room leaving Rangiku pouting as she stared at the mountain of paperwork on the desk.

Hinata walked over to the window and searched for her friends while Rangiku mumbled under her breath as she got to work. Again, all of her friends were safe for now. With a sigh, she rest her head on her hands, leaning on the window sill and waited for Rangiku to finish all of her paperwork.


	25. Chapter 23 New Friends

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 23 New Friends

Hinata slipped out of the office as soon as Rangiku got to the last stack of papers. She could sense Ichigo moving again and wanted to go meet him. Rangiku protested, but Hinata just waved merrily and used Hirenkyak to cross the Seireitei so that she'd make it in time to watch Ichigo fight.

She underestimated her speed and got ahead of Ichigo. Skidding to a stop, Hinata looked around and found a bright pink head peering at her over the spiky haired man's shoulder.

"Kenny, look! My friend came back!" Yachiru cheered, hopping off Kenny's shoulder.

"Huh?" Kenny asked, swinging around to look. "Someone strong, right?" Then he saw Hinata and let out a sigh of disappointment. "Wrong one."

Yachiru skipped over to Hinata and gave her a big hug. "Come! Kenny's going to make a new friend!"

Hinata smiled and climbed on the man's back with Yachiru. Kenny leapt to the rooftop, and scanned for signs of Ichigo, who was fast approaching. In his excitement, Kenny released a massive amount of spirit pressure. Once Ichigo arrived, Kenny jumped to the ground, catching Ichigo by surprise. "You are Ichigo Kurosaki, are you not?"

Ichigo turned. "How do you . . . know my name? Who are you?"

"Oh. Didn't Ikkaku tell you? I am Kenpachi Zaraki – Captain of the eleventh company. I'm here to kill you or die."

Hinata was trying hard not to giggle and give herself away. How surprised would Ichigo be when she jumped out from behind Kenny? She could also feel from Kenny that he just wanted to have a good fight. Ichigo was strong and would be able to give him a good fight, and because of this, Kenny wouldn't kill Ichigo. She heard Ichigo cry out to Hanataro. She quickly felt out to him and noticed he was just under extreme pressure from Kenny's spiritual pressure. She gave a small sigh of relief; Hanataro would be fine as long as he left the area.

Yachiru popped up then, pushing Kenny's head to the side. "He's Drooling!"

"What?" Ichigo cried out. Hinata felt Yachiru lightly land on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Poor guy."

"Crap!" Ichigo yelled, swinging upward at Yachiru. With that Yachiru jumped back to Kenny's side.

"That man's mad at me. . ." She said in a quiet voice.

"Silly. Of course he is." Kenny replied.

Hinata thought this would be a good time to appear. She poked her head over Kenny's shoulder just like Yachiru had done. "He's not mad at you, Yachiru, you just surprised him!" Hinata sent a wave towards Ichigo. His eyes went wide at seeing her. She started giggling. She stopped when Ichigo started speaking again.

"Ganju! Grab Hanataro and go! I'll take care of this guy. You've got to save Rukia!"

"How?" The man that was with Ichigo said.

"Shut up! Just go! I have to save my sister!"

The man seemed conflicted for a moment. "All right!" He turned and threw Hanataro over his shoulder as he took off running.

Kenny and Yachiru just watched as they ran away.

"What's this? Neither one of you is going after them? Isn't it your mission to stop us?" The whole time Ichigo talked he didn't take his eyes off Kenny or Hinata on his shoulder.

"I told you, I'm here to kill you or die. Your friends and the girl are of no interest to me."

Ichigo gave a growl. "Then why do you have me sister!"

Kenny shifted to look back at the girl sitting on his back and then at Yachiru. "You didn't tell me she had a brother."

Yachiru have a shrug before jumping back on his shoulder and looked at Hinata. "Why didn't you tell me you had a strong brother for Kenny to play with?"

Hinata just gave a smile as Ichigo spoke up, "Give back my sister!"

Kenny, with a lazy eye, looked back at Ichigo who had struck a fighting pose with anger leaking out. "Not bad. Your guard is stiff and full of holes, but you've got a good amount of spirit energy. Even some lieutenants might not be a match for you which explains why Ikkaku lost."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Thanks a lot."

As Kenny started talking again, Yachiru grabbed Hinata and pulled her over to the side. Hinata watched with interest as Kenny told Ichigo to take the first hit. He seemed reluctant, but with a look towards where Hinata was standing, he rushed forward towards a smirking Kenny.

Hinata and Yachiru took a squatting position off to the side and watched with interest as Ichigo swung his sword. Hinata watched as a trickle of blood hit the ground. Her eyes rose to Kenny who was completely fine. Ichigo on the other hand was bleeding from his hands because of the force of his swing.

"Silly Ichigo, he won't be able to hurt Kenny unless he goes all out."

Yachiru sent her a side look before looking back at the stunned Ichigo, "Yeah." She stood up and walked up to Ichigo. "You can't cut Kenny. To him it's almost like your sword has no blade."

"What?!"

As they started to explain why Ichigo couldn't hurt Kenny, Hinata was distracted by a rise in Chad's spiritual pressure. She looked towards where he was and gave a smile when she felt that he was with Shunsui. Shunsui would take care of Chad; she wouldn't need to worry about him anymore.

Yachiru came back over and, picking Hinata up, shunpoed to the top of a nearby building. "This way we can watch them. Hopefully your brother is strong enough to be Kenny's friend."

Hinata could feel the sadness coming from Yachiru as she spoke. She looked down to watch Ichigo running away from Kenny. She gave a small frown; Ichigo was strong enough but he was scared. If he didn't find his determination, he wouldn't be able to be Kenny's friend! Hinata gave a small smile and nudged Yachiru. "Look he is ready to fight!"

Just as he started to find Kenny, he froze though. Hinata also turned to where Chad's spiritual pressure had declined significantly. He appeared to have lost to Shunsui, but he was still alive. A few moments later, Ichigo seemed to find the same thing before taking off again. When he finally found Kenny, he swung his sword again and this time gave him a cut across the chest.

Finding Yachiru's arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, she heard Yachiru say, "Look Hinata, your brother is strong!"

As they stood there, Ichigo's voice rose from below them, ". . .cause if I die, I'll lose everything I've been fighting for!"

Yachiru giggled, "Kenny looks happy."

The fight continued for a couple minutes before Kenny stabbed through Ichigo's Zanpakuto, piercing him in the chest.

Yachiru stood up, brushing herself off. "Sorry Hinata, looks like your brother wasn't strong enough." She looked to be about to jump down when Kenny froze.

Hinata smiled, "Ichigo's not done yet; his sword has just come to fight."

Yachiru looked confused at Hinata before looking back down towards Kenny, but she couldn't see anything. Hinata watched as a tall man dressed in a long black coat walked past Kenny towards Ichigo. She felt when Ichigo entered his inner world and began to fight. The man in black stayed outside for a moment and cast his eyes up to where she was standing. They made eye contact. When she gave a cheery wave, he had a small smile cross his face before he vanished back into Ichigo's inner world. It was only a matter of a moment before they were slammed with an immense spiritual pressure.

Hinata smiled as she watched Ichigo rise from the ground. He was still bleeding, but his eyes were full of determination this time

Yachiru gave a cry of joy and jumped up and down excitedly.

Ichigo shot forward like a bullet, swinging his sword and leaving a deep slash in Kenny. She could feel the joy that started pouring out of Kenny. He had found a friend. They kept fighting back and forth and she could feel that Ichigo was growing uneasy with the way that Kenny was fighting. She watched with interest as Kenny ripped his eye patch off. His spiritual pressure became more intense. He had finally let the full extent of his spiritual pressure out. She hadn't understood why he wore the eyepatch, but wondered if maybe it was like why she wore her gigai?

At that moment, someone appeared behind them. Hinata cast a look over her shoulder to see a man with a roof like hat over his face covering his eyes. She went back to watching the fight below.

"Lieutenant Kusajisji! I have an urgent message for you!" He called out.

"Okay, come back later."

"I'm sorry but with all due respect, this is a top-secret message signed by Captain Yamamoto and Captain Hitsugaya."

"Fine. Tell me Later."

The man seemed to be agitated, "That's . . . that's not possible lieutenant. I was ordered to deliver this message to all captains and lieutenants immediately!"

"Quiet." Yachiru turned around and Hinata felt her true power manifest in the shape of a large tiger as she glared at the man. "Don't bother me while Kenny's fighting."

The man jerked back in surprise. Hinata gave a small smile before looking back at Kenny who was standing with his now released energy. They talked for a little bit before Kenny swung his sword causing a building to collapse. Hinata watched with interest as once again Ichigo's sword manifested as the man talking to Ichigo again. Just like before, the man looked up and made eye contact with her before giving her a small nod and vanishing again. Ichigo's power also rose to surpass Kenny's. They both drew in all their power and dove in for what Hinata knew would be the last attack. At their collision, the surrounding buildings began to collapse. She looked at Yachiru who seemed to have used her own spiritual pressure to keep the building they were on from collapsing.

When the dirt settled it showed Ichigo and Kenny with swords pressed against each other. Yachiru grabbed Hinata then and they flew to the ground. They arrived in time to hear Ichigo's last words before he collapsed to the ground.

"Sorry guys."

Kenny just looked down at him, smiling as blood sprayed from his wound. "Heh, what do you have to be sorry for?" His sword snapped in half. Hinata looked to Yachiru who had gone paler. "You won fool," and with those last words he too fell beside Ichigo.

Yachiru walked up to both of them before bowing, "Thank You!" She turned, giving Hinata a hug before turning back to Ichigo. "Kenny had a great time fighting you! Thanks Ichigo! It's been so long since I've seen him this happy! Thanks a Lot!" Turning to Hinata, she continued, "It was a lot of fun spending time with you too, Hinata. We should play again as well." Moving over, she scrambled under Kenny's arm and picked him up. "Let's go; Ichigo, try not to die. And if you can, come back and play with Kenny sometime. Please." With a finally nod to Hinata she jumped into the air with Kenny.


	26. Chapter 24 Just Before the Storm

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 24 Just Before the Storm

Hinata walked up to Ichigo. Reaching down, she picked him up princess style. She was sensing for Hanataro and had just found him, but before she left to find him she called out, "Aunt Kitty, when do you plan on coming out?"

A deep chuckle came as a black cat came out shaking its head. "I need to stop being surprised; only you would notice me when I had my spiritual pressure suppressed." She jumped up onto Hinata's shoulder and looked down at Ichigo. "I'm so sorry that I was late Ichigo."

Hinata took a look at him before she took a step towards Hanataro.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a friend who can heal him."

Aunt Kitty was already shaking her head, "No, I have a safe place where he can heal and I can train him a little more before Rukia is sent to her trial."

Hinata looked towards Hanataro one last time before nodding and allowing aunt Kitty to lead her away from the main part of the Seireitei.

. . .

Hinata found that her legs where shaking when they stopped outside a hidden cave. Aunt Kitty looked back at her when she stopped. Her eyes went wide and she raced back to Hinata and shifted to her human form in time to catch the collapsing girl.

Hinata, with half closed eyes, looked up at Aunt Kitty. "I'm tired."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Seven. . . eight. . . days?"

"Silly girl" She quickly took Ichigo out of Hinata's arms. "I'll be right back." As fast as she could, she took Ichigo into a healing room and placed him on a mat before running back out to pick Hinata off the ground. The poor girl had fallen asleep by the time she came back out. She gave a smile as she scooped her up. Hinata wasn't even supposed to be here. She was in more danger then all the others. Kisuke had tried so hard to make sure that she wouldn't end up here. Well, that just meant she would have to keep her safe then.

. . .

Hinata drifted awake to find herself surrounded by steam and her body submerged in water. She saw her gigai just outside of the water. She looked down to see that she was being supported by Kido. She was still so tired. What had woken her? It took her a moment to realize that Ichigo's spiritual pressure was leaving. He was still injured, but she noticed that Aunt Kitty had just taken off after him. He would be safe. Sleep once again claimed her.

. . .

Hinata didn't know how long she had been asleep. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around, finding Aunt Kitty and Ichigo were nearby, and Ichigo was fighting his sword again. While she slipped back into her gigai, she listened to the sounds of Ichigo's battle. Still feeling tired, Hinata found a place to lie down and once more drifted off to sleep.

. . .

Nikko and Masaki were waiting for Hinata with a picnic in the grass, enjoying the sunlight that had been absent for so long. Masaki stood when Hinata appeared, caught her in a hug, and kissed the top of Hinata's head. Nikko joined them, wrapping her arms around Hinata's middle from behind. Hinata slowly relaxed, enjoying the warmth of her mother's arms. After a long moment, they broke apart and sank onto the picnic blanket.

"I'm so happy that you're not sad anymore!" Nikko said, grabbing Hinata's hand, her eyes shining.

Hinata smiled. "Yep. I've been protecting my friends."

Masaki smiled too. "You're so strong, sweetie."

Hinata frowned. "Nikko, what is Ichigo doing with his sword right now?"

Nikko tilted her head to the side, a puzzled look on her face. "He's learning Bankai."

"What's Bankai?"

Nikko smiled. "You know how when you say my name you're using Shikai?"

Hinata nodded, still looking troubled.

"Bankai is the next level."

"Oh," Hinata said, nodding slowly. "Will you teach me Bankai, Nikko?"

Nikko giggled. "You already know Bankai, Hinata. My name is just a little different."

Hinata stared at her. "Will you tell me then?"

"When I'm in Bankai form, my name is Meimei Kagayaki. Meimei means 'invisible.'"

Hinata nodded, smiling. "Your names are so pretty, Nikko."

Nikko smiled, squeezing Hinata's hand. Masaki stroked her daughter's hair, absentmindedly detangling it with her fingers. They sat like that for some time, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Hinata laid back and gazed up at the sky, grateful for the break. She hadn't realized how stressed she'd been the past week or how much energy it had taken to hide her presence within the Seireitei.

"Are you alright, Hinata?" Masaki asked, leaning over Hinata and blocking the sun.

"Yep! I'm just a little tired." Hinata sat up and hugged her mom, a question suddenly popping into her head. "Mommy, what's daddy like?"

Masaki was startled by the question, but smiled as she played with Hinata's hair again. "Your father is a wonderful man. He works hard, is very loving, and does all he can to help people. He loves to play games and make people smile. You're a lot like him."

Hinata closed her eyes and tried to imagine his face. She'd only ever seen his back when she'd gotten close to him. "Do you think he'll like me when he meets me?"

"He'll love you, darling," Masaki said with a smile.

Comforted, Hinata spent the rest of the day with them, making flower circlets with Nikko and chatting with Masaki. It surprised her when they told her that it was time to go.

"I want to stay!" Hinata said, hugging Masaki again.

Nikko tugged on her hand. "We want you to stay too, but it's time for you to go back to your friends now. They need you."

Hinata knew it too. She could feel the faint traces of Chad's and Uryu's spirit energies. Both of them were injured and being held captive. With a sigh, she gave both Nikko and her mother a final hug.

. . .

Yoruichi smiled when she saw that Hinata was awake. Ichigo was nearby, still fighting his sword. "You okay there, kid?" Yoruichi asked, offering her a hand. Hinata accepted and allowed Yoruichi to pull her to her feet.

"I feel a lot better," Hinata said with a broad smile. She turned and looked towards Ichigo and Zangetsu. "How is Ichigo doing?"

Yoruichi looked towards Ichigo too. "He's fine. I just hope he's ready in time."

Hinata nodded and turned, heading towards the cave's entrance.

"Where are you going?" Yoruichi asked, grabbing Hinata's wrist. The girl turned and looked at her, brown eyes wide.

"The others need me more than Ichigo does. I'm going to go meet them."

Yoruichi let her go, surprised. "Be careful," she whispered, watching the determined child jog out of the cave.

. . .

Uryu opened his eyes feeling stiff and sore. Blinking, he tried to adjust to his new surroundings. He was lying on the bottom bunk of a small room and light trickled in from a barred window. He sat up and noticed bandages wrapped tightly around his arms. _I'm alive,_ he thought, remembering the battle from the previous night and shuddering at the memory.

"Hi! You're awake?!" a familiar voice said.

Uryu fell back against the wall behind him, startled when he saw a head covered in bandages hanging down from the bunk above him. "Whaaaaaa! Who are you? A burglar?!"

"No no no, what would I steal from an invalid in a jail cell? It's me!" Ganju said, lifting some of the bandages covering his eyes.

That reminded Uryu that someone had changed his clothes while he'd been unconscious. Panicking, he searched for Hinata's chopsticks.

"Looking for these?" another familiar voice said.

Uryu looked up, his heart racing. "Chad!" Chad was holding Hinata's chopsticks out to Uryu.

"They almost didn't let me keep them," Chad grunted, handing the silver hair pieces to Uryu. "You were holding them when they brought you in."

"Thank you," Uryu said breathlessly, clutching the chopsticks in his fist. Neither of his companions looked like they'd had an easy time once they'd been separated. Then again, Uryu hadn't fared much better. Briefly, he remembered that Orihime was still out there somewhere on her own, but Chad was speaking again.

"There's been a development. The guards have been talking. A captain was murdered. They don't know who did it but . . ."

They stared at each other, silent as Uryu digested this new piece of information.

"He's not dead," a cheerful voice said, drawing their attention to the entrance of the small cell. Hinata peered at them from outside the bars, grinning one of her brightest smiles. "The body they found was a fake."

"Hinata!" Uryu cried, rolling off the bunk and rushing to the bars.

Hinata giggled. "Sillies. You all went and got yourselves hurt!"

Uryu opened his mouth to answer, but Ganju appeared at his side and asked, "Who is she? Is she related to Ichigo?"

Uryu jumped and turned to glare at him.

"They're cousins." Chad grunted, joining them at the bars.

Uryu pushed his glasses up, momentarily forgetting that his hands were cuffed together. Hinata saw the chopsticks clutched in his fingers and absently reached a hand through the bars. "You brought them . . ." she said, surprised, but before he could give them back to her, a group of guards ran past Hinata spreading an alert.

"Lieutenant Hinamori isn't in her cell! Everyone search the building!" one of the guards hollered as he sped past.

Hinata snatched her hand back and stared after the Shinigami. Uryu was surprised that none of them seemed to notice that Hinata was even standing there. "Umm . . ." Hinata said, biting her lip, "I have to go guys."

"Wait!" Uryu yelled, causing her to turn slightly.

"Don't worry," she said with a smile. "You're safe here. Somebody else needs my help right now."

Uryu tried to reach out through the bars, but Hinata was already running down the hall, her long orange hair dancing as she rushed away. Clenching his fist around the chopsticks once more, he ground his teeth and cursed the loss of his quincy powers.

. . .

Captain Ukitake paused to catch his breath, frustrated. They had moved up Rukia's execution once again and Byakuya acted as though Rukia deserved her fate. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a steadying breath and counted to ten.

"Are you okay, mister?" a child's voice asked.

Ukitake opened his eyes in surprise and found a young girl with bright orange hair gazing at him, her expression serious. "Where did you come from, little one?" he asked, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"Why are you sad?" the girl asked, dodging his question.

Ukitake was speechless for a moment. Who was this child? How did she know how confused and upset he was? "I'm just an old, sick man," he answered her at last.

The girl frowned. "No, you're sad. Did something happen to Rukia?"

"How did you . . .?"

The girl suddenly gave him a hug. "I'm sorry, mister, but I have to go. Gin needs me. You shouldn't be sad though. Ichigo's going to save Rukia."

Ukitake stared after her as she ran off. Ichigo? Wasn't that one of the Ryoka still loose in the Seireitei? She had mentioned Captain Ichimaru as well. Who was this child? Confused, he continued towards Sokyoku Hill.

. . .

Hinata was too late. Momo had found Gin already, and Toshiro had found both of them. Picking up her pace, Hinata raced through the streets. Toshiro was fighting with Gin. She flew into their midst, skidding to a halt just as Gin's blade extended. "Stop!" she cried, trying to pull on Gin's arm as his blade flew towards Momo who lay a short distance away. There was a look of horror on Toshiro's face; he wouldn't be able to block Gin's sword in time.

There was a loud clank, and all of them turned to see Rangiku blocking Gin's blade with her own. Gin's eyes, which had widened when Hinata appeared, opened all the way in surprise when he saw Rangiku. Rangiku panted from the effort of blocking Gin and a small crack appeared in her blade where his had made contact.

"Why are you fighting?" Hinata demanded of the two captains, her voice shaking. "Why are you doing this, Gin? You're just hurting yourself more!"

Gin glared at her. "It's none of your business what I do."

Toshiro stared at the both of them, shock written all over his face. This was the third time he'd seen Hinata interfere with Gin.

"Why are you being so mean?" Hinata cried, and angry expression appearing on her face. She pointed to Rangiku, who looked exhausted, and said, "You're just going to hurt her more if you don't stop it!"

Gin glanced guiltily at Rangiku. "There's no other way –" he began, but Hinata cut him off.

"There's always a better way than betraying your friends!"

There was silence. Gin couldn't believe that Hinata was interfering again. She didn't understand that he was doing this to protect them all. Why wouldn't she leave him alone?! Furious, Gin turned on his heel and shunpoed away. She was ruining his only chance to stop Aizen.

Hinata watched him go, and then turned to look at Toshiro and Rangiku. Both of them were staring at her, dumbfounded. "Please," she begged, "he's not a bad guy. Gin's making some bad choices right now, but he thinks he's doing the right thing."

Toshiro didn't know what to say to that. He watched as Hinata wiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks and then as she ran off, leaving him and Rangiku to deal with the emotional Momo.


	27. Chapter 25 Sorrow and Victory

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 25 Sorrow and Victory

Ulquiorra looked around their cave again. It was so lonely without Hinata here. It had been days since he had seen her, and word had just come that it was time. Any day Aizen and his followers would come to Las Noches. He, along with all the other hollows Aizen had gathered, were supposed to be there when he arrived.

He let his eyes wander around the cave one last time before picking up Hinata's trunk. She always kept her most important things in it, and the rest they had stored away. Sonidoing, he left the cave that he knew he would never come back to.

He gave a small smile at the sandcastle that rose in front of him. It was indestructible to all. He had heard Lilynette and several other hollows complain about it. Several had tried to destroy it, but nothing had worked.

Thankfully when they had built it he had also used a little of his own spiritual pressure along with Hinata's, and that allowed him to enter the sand castle. The inside had several small trunks like the one in his arms that held all the gifts she had ever been given. There were even some flowers that she had frozen from her last birthday. He gently placed it on the ground next to the others. As he went to stand again, a small flash of silver caught his eye. He smiled as he held his arm up. When Hinata had started school, she had bought him a bracelet that was green with a small circular charm. It was her first purchase in her gigai, and she had been so proud of herself. She had also bought an identical one for herself but in yellow. It was the only thing he could take of her with him.

He strode to the door before passing through the sand, coming out on the other side only to skid to a stop when he saw Starrk and Lilynette who was tapping her feet impatiently. Starrk gave a smile at his exit.

"So we were right; this is her house." Starrk said.

Ulquiorra did his best to make his face blank. "Who's?"

Lilynette let out a growl before launching herself at him. "You know who!"

He leaned to the side as she sailed past him and smashed into the sandcastle, cursing. Starrk's face went serious. "Where is she?"

"I. . ."

Starrk moved forward and appeared as if he was about to hit him, but stopped. Ulquiorra looked to the side to see he was holding Lilynette's leg. "Don't bother lying to us. We know you are together. We have no plan of ever telling Aizen. If you won't tell us where she is, will you tell us if she is safe?"

Ulquiorra paused. "I don't know."

Starrk gave a knowing nod before looking past him at the castle again. "Did she make the sandcastle?"

Ulquiorra couldn't stop the small smile that creeped onto his face. "Yeah."

Starrk smirked, still holding Lilynette. "I wondered. It has always felt like her."

They stood for but a moment more looking at each other before, with a brief nod, they took off in separate directions.

Ulquiorra had one last thing he needed to make sure of before he went in to Las Noches. It wasn't too hard to find her. She seemed to enjoy hanging around the sand castle, almost like she could remember the girl she had met there. Ulquiorra stood on the hill looking down at a little green haired girl as she ran around.

It had happened while he had been away; the fifth and eight espada had cornered Nel. He still wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but when he had made it back, her mask had been cracked and was leaking spiritual pressure. The only way she had been able to survive was by reverting back to a small child and conserving her energy. She had lost all of her memories in the process. He hadn't told Hinata for he knew she would be upset and would try to get revenge for her friend, but with Aizen on high alert looking for her it would be impossible to avenge Nel.

Aizen had become more and more infatuated with Hinata the longer she managed to avoid him. He was drawn from his thoughts when a voiced yelled out, "Uncle Ulqui!" followed by a head butt to his chest. If it hadn't been from all the years of raising Hinata and her attacking him with hugs, he was sure he would have been thrown off his feet into the sand dune behind him.

As it was, he was able to keep his feet, but was still pushed back several feet. He reached down and ruffled Nel's hair. "How are you doing, Nel?"

"Nel is doing great! I have been playing chase all day long. Play with me!" And with that she was off again running across the dunes.

He gave a smile. She was just like a younger Hinata, but if he was honest with himself, Hinata was still like that. He had decided that when Nel had been hurt that he would protect her as best as he could for Hinata. With that thought he was off chasing her through the sand. She wasn't as fast as Hinata was at that size, but she was still hard to catch.

. . .

It was almost time. Ulquiorra stood in what had become his room in Las Noches. It was a large, open place. It was empty, just like how he had felt all those years ago before Hinata had come into his life. He had to shake himself. Aizen was due to arrive today if his information was correct, and he needed to be there to greet him. With one final look at his bracelet, he left his room.

. . .

After leaving Toshiro and Rangiku behind, Hinata had felt lost. She wasn't sure where she should go, so she found herself wandering the Seireitei again. What could she do to help Gin?!

She was standing on a building when the sun started to rise. She reached out her hands as if to touch it when a small flash of light caught her eye. It was her bracelet. It was bright yellow with a simple sun charm holding it together. She had bought it with Uncle Kisuke.

She breathed in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. She didn't need to worry. It would work out. She gave a giggle before setting off to help her friends.

. . .

Chad sat and listened to Ganju and Ishida fighting. They were yelling so loud that Chad almost didn't hear the sound of approaching feet. "Shh!" He said.

"Huh?" Ishida looked back at him.

"What? What is it?" Ganju asked.

"Don't you hear that?" Chad said facing the sound that was getting louder.

"Yeah, I think I do," Ganju said.

Crashes started sounding from outside. "Um. . . It's definitely getting closer."

"Don't worry, it's just Kenny!"

They all swung around to see Hinata squatting in front of the bars smiling at them.

"Hina. . ."

There was a loud explosion and dirt rained down from the ceiling. As the dust cleared, a large man with black spiky hair appeared.

Ganju started freaking out "Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the eleventh squad! Wahhhh! You're that weird bowl cut narcissist!"

The man with feathers attached to his eyebrow stepped forward with a scrunched brow. "Who are you again? Sorry, I have a bad memory for ugly faces. . ." His sentence died off as he caught sight of something behind Chad. He sped past him to the bars. "Hinata! It is so good to see a beautiful face again!" He went to say something more, but was cut off by another.

A short pink haired head peeked over the large man's shoulder. "Hinata?!" Yeah!" She jumped off Kenny onto Chad's shoulder before continuing onto the other man who was looking at Hinata.

Everyone was so confused with what was happening that they almost didn't notice Orihime who also peeked over the large man's shoulder. "Uryu! Chad! Ganju! Hinata! Thank goodness, you're all right!" As Orihime climbed off the larger man's back, the large man walked over to Hinata.

He looked down at her. "Why is it every time I want someone strong to fight I keep finding you?"

Hinata just smiled up at him. "Kenny! It's good to see that you are okay!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where is your brother?"

"He's training, but he will be at Rukia's execution to save her!"

He gave a nod. "Well, we better go find him then." He reached forward and pulled the bars apart so that Hinata could step into the cell with them.

As soon as she stepped through the bars she found herself on the receiving end of two bone crushing hugs from her friends. They all started talking at once.

Orihime: "I was so worried when I saw you on the other side of the gate when it closed. You weren't supposed to be here."

"Idiot," Uryu whispered from behind.

"Glad you're okay." Chad said as he patted her head.

That was all the reunion they had before the large man spoke again, "Time to go."

Uryu grabbed Hinata's hand as they all exited out of the cell and back into the street.

. . .

Hinata giggled as once again they went down the wrong path. She knew where they were, but found it fun to watch as Kenny led the group. She was in no hurry; she could tell that they still had plenty of time before they needed to be there to save Rukia.

Beside her, Uryu was still holding her hand and gave a small cough. She looked over at him and smiled. He gave a small smile before dropping her hand. He reached with hands on either side of her head gathering all of her hair. He pulled it up into a bun before pulling his hands back. Hinata reached up, touching it, and felt the cold silver of her chopsticks. He gave another small cough as she smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you, Hinata. I let my feelings get away from me, and I've hurt you."

"It's okay, I forgive you." She reached up on her tippy toes and kissed him on his cheek before skipping to the front and standing by Kenny. "When are you going to tell them to come out? Are they playing hide and seek?"

Kenny looked down at her before looking up again. "Playing hide and seek. . . why, you ought to be ashamed. Show yourself. Captains shouldn't go around disguising their spiritual pressures."

As the spiritual pressure rose, a loud voice spoke, "You've got a big mouth. Do you realize what you're doing?"

Hinata watched with interest as four people appeared; one of which was the Shinigami who was fighting with himself. His eyes went wide as they fell upon her. When the man with pretty dark skin spoke, Hinata felt a dark chill climb her spine. She quickly ducked behind Kenny and grabbed his robes. Kenny shot her a look of puzzlement before facing forward to listen to the man.

"Where were you going with the Ryoka? Did you lose your honor with your defeat, Zaraki?"

Hinata was shaking so hard that she wasn't able to hear what they were saying until she felt the comforting rise in Kenny's spiritual pressure. He twisted around and gently pulled her hands off his robe and handed her to Chad who was the closest.

"Four against one, eh? Not really enough to test my sword, but why not?" Kenny gave a chuckle.

"Four to one isn't enough? Do you mean to take on all four of us by yourself? I know you're good, but I think you're overrating yourself a bit Kenpachi Zaraki," a large man who was wearing a bucket on his head said.

"Stop yapping and fight!" Kenny said, pulling his sword out in front of him once again and raising his spiritual pressure once more. "If you're smart you'll attack me from all sides at once. Then one of you might have a chance of cutting me."

When a man tried to offer Kenny help, Kenny told him to move because he was in the way. Yachiru gave a smile and a wave to Kenny. "Kenny! We'll go on ahead and look for Ichigo! Don't take too long, okay?"

"Don't worry. I'll be right there."

With that Yachiru turned, giving them a smile. "Okay, let's go! C'mon Hinata, Chubby Chest, Muscles, Gorilla, Pencil Neck!"

Chad reached down, picking up Hinata in his arms and followed the little girl. As they ran away, Hinata found that her eyes were glued to Kenny's back.

. . .

"You can put me down, Chad," Hinata said softly, looking up at her friend. "I can walk on my own."

Chad grunted and set her on her feet.

Hinata walked silently beside Uryu, who had taken her hand once again, while Yachiru led them through the Seireitei. She was worried about Kenny, but Yumichika and Ikkaku had stayed to help him, so she felt that he would be okay. She could still feel Ichigo's spirit pressure where she had last left him; he was still training. If he didn't hurry, he would be too late. Before long, another battle caught her attention; the red haired man was fighting someone too, and he felt stronger than he had before.

"Are you alright?" Uryu asked, bringing her attention back to their little group.

She smiled up at him. "Yep! I'm just making sure everyone is okay!"

He smiled back at her, but she was distracted once again. Gin had found Rukia, and he wasn't being very nice. She shook her head sadly; Gin was still trying to convince everyone that he was a bad guy. Hinata sighed and pulled her hand free of Uryu's so that she could take the lead.

Yachiru looked up at her confused. "Did you want to lead?"

"Yes," Hinata said, looking towards the execution grounds. "I know how to get there, and it will be faster if I lead."

. . .

Gin walked away as Rukia screamed behind him, guilt eating at his heart. The whole time he spoke to her, the image of Hinata haunted him along with the tattered ribbon that was Rangiku. He knew that the odd, orange haired girl would not approve of his behavior. He tried to push the image of her out of his mind, but the sinking, guilty feeling just intensified. What if he really was hurting Rangiku?

. . .

There was a loud rumbling sound coming from the execution grounds. Hinata looked up at it; they still had time to get there. However, the others were beginning to panic.

"Has it begun?" Yachiru asked, also looking towards Sokyoku Hill.

"Don't worry," Hinata said, turning to comfort them. "We'll make it in time. We're almost there."

Yachiru suddenly shot forward. "I don't care about the execution, but Itchy might be there, and if he is, I have to help him."

The others picked up the pace. Hinata could feel all the battles coming to a close. Kenny had won his battles. The red haired man had lost, but he would be okay once someone healed him. Next she sought out Ichigo, and then smiled; he had finally mastered Bankai. It wouldn't be long until they could rescue Rukia.

. . .

 **Answers:** Hey everyone. As always, thank you for reading! We are so grateful for your support. We just wanted to acknowledge some of your comments and provide some clarification. A few of you have said that we're sticking a little too close to Bleach's actual story line without changing it up. That is true for some parts; we are now tied into the story line. However, we are trying to only stick to the main, major plot points and battles because we are trying to stay true to each individual character's personalities. However, once we leave the Seireitei, we are going to be mixing things up a little bit again. As always, please review or message us with your questions and we'll get back to you!


	28. Chapter 26 The Betrayal

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 26 The Betrayal

The ground was shaking as they ran up. The others cast nervous looks at each other.

"What is happening up there?" Uryu called out over the group.

Hinata turned and ran backwards while talking to them, "Oh, Ichigo just showed up!"

There was a sudden increase of pressure that quickly faded. Orihime gave a squeak. "And that?"

"That was strong people running away!" She turned and began to run forward again, "We don't need to worry. Aunt Kitty is almost there!"

"Aunt Kitty?" Chad asked.

"Yep, Aunt Kitty. You have all met her!"

"You mean Mr. Yoruichi?" Orihime chirped up.

"Mr.? No silly, Aunt Kitty is a girl."

Uryu pushed up his glasses as he spoke up, "You are referring to the black cat that came with us right?"

"Yep!"

The three exchanged a look before looking at Hinata's back. An unspoken agreement passed through all of them. They would agree not to disagree with Hinata.

Several minutes later an earthquake shook the ground followed by a blinding light. "Ichigo," was all Hinata said, but it caused the group that was growing tired to pick up the pace again in a hurry to make it to the top.

. . .

"Are they beyond those dead white trees?" Ganju asked, confused.

"I can't see past them," Uryu said, irritation creeping into his voice.

Orihime glided forward to where Hinata stood, saying, "I don't need to see. No matter how strong Ichigo's spirit pressure gets, the scent is the same."

Hinata's head tilted to the side as she gave Orihime a puzzled look. Uryu groaned as she too began to sniff at the air. Chad interrupted them; "I don't sense Rukia's spirit pressure."

"She got away," a familiar voice chimed.

"Yachiru!" Hinata cried, forgetting about Ichigo's scent. Everybody looked up and found the tiny, pink haired lieutenant sitting on a branch above their heads.

"Then why is Ichigo still fighting?" Chad asked.

"He must be up against a powerful adversary," Uryu mused. "She won't be safe until he's broken the enemy completely. He has to crush all hope of executing her. It's the only way. That's why he's still fighting."

Hinata smiled and grabbed both of their hands. "Don't worry. Ichigo is going to win! Let's go watch him!"

Together they began making their way through the trees. However, before long there was a loud explosion that caused all of them to halt, protecting their faces with their arms. Orihime stumbled forward and Uryu reached out to stop her, but Hinata pulled his hand back. "It'll be okay, Uryu. She'll be fine."

Uryu glanced at Hinata, hoping she was right. "You better win, Ichigo," he whispered.

. . .

Hinata inched out of the trees ahead of the others, eyes zeroing in on Ichigo. He was injured, but he hadn't lost yet; he was still fighting. She let out a sigh of relief, then froze. Ichigo's spirit pressure changed and . . . it didn't quite feel like Ichigo. Tilting her head to the side, she tried to figure out where she had felt that spirit energy before. Loud laughter came from his direction and Ichigo shouted, "I have no name!"

Hinata's eyes widened. It wasn't Ichigo speaking, it was a hollow! His spirit pressure was now similar to Ulquiorra's, but at the same time it was still Ichigo's. His opponent seemed to realize this as well, but a moment later, the spirit pressure vanished and Ichigo was himself again. Hinata smiled; the battle would be over soon, and Ichigo was going to win.

"What's going on?" Uryu asked, squinting at the area where Ichigo was hidden by the power of his opponent's sword.

"It's almost over," Hinata told them all cheerfully.

In the next moment, there was a blinding clash of spirit energy. Nobody but Hinata seemed to notice the flower petals that seemed to be falling from the battlefield. She stepped forward and reached out a hand, catching one of the shimmering petals with two fingers. Surprised, she realized that it was a shard of the other man's blade. It quivered in her fingers, tugging as if it wanted to return to its master. She released it, and smiled. Ichigo had won.

Orihime ran past, hurrying to help heal Ichigo as he talked with the man he'd defeated. Before she arrived, Ichigo cried out "I won!" before collapsing backwards right into Orihime. Hinata giggled and led the rest of their group forward.

"Hmmm . . . you're in good spirits for someone covered in blood . . . Ichigo," Uryu said while pushing up his glasses, a slight teasing tone in his voice.

"Uryu! Hinata! Chad! Ganju!" Ichigo cried, staring up at all of them with a smile. "You're all okay. Good."

Hinata knelt next to Orihime and took Ichigo's hand, smiling.

"Are you hurt, Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

"Huh? Oh, no!" Orihime said, waving her hands frantically. "Uryu protected me, and . . . Mr. Zaraki even gave me a piggy back ride!" Orihime was blushing now. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Ichigo. Thanks for not getting killed. I'm so glad you're alright."

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks, Orihime."

His eyes then wandered over to Hinata. There was a look of pain on his face as he looked at her. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I was supposed to protect you."

Hinata smiled down at him. "You don't need to."

Her statement didn't seem to make him feel better as his eyes closed.

. . .

Renji cradled Rukia in his arms and dashed through the streets of the Seireitei. She was safe now, and that's all that he had wanted. The further they got from the Sokyoku, the more he was able to relax. Slowing just a bit, Renji realized he wasn't alone. He looked up and found his way blocked by Captain Tousen.

"Captain Tousen?" Renji spluttered. "What are you doing here?"

The blind captain didn't respond, but instead pulled a band out of nowhere and whipped it around himself, Renji, and Rukia.

"What?" Renji cried, confused as a fierce wind blew and their surroundings vanished. Next thing he knew, they were back on Sokyoku Hill.

. . .

Hinata stiffened, an overwhelming feeling of dread coming over her. She felt Uryu turn towards her in concern as she sprang to her feet and grabbed Chad, who was the nearest person, by the robes and buried her face in his back. Chad grunted and looked back at her in surprise.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Uryu asked, drawing Ichigo's attention to her as well.

"He's coming," Hinata whispered, recognizing the spirit pressure. "The scary man will be here soon."

"What scary man?" Ichigo asked, confused.

Hinata pointed a shaking finger at the hill they had just left. Ganju was supporting Ichigo's weight as they left. "He's up there. He's . . . Ichigo, he's a really bad man. He scares me."

As she had spoken Ichigo had walked closer to her. She let go of Chad and clung to him. She had felt the rise in the scary man's spiritual pressure, but it was almost smothering her now. She had never felt anything so evil before, not even in Hueco Mundo.

They all turned to look back up at the hill when the Seireitei was suddenly filled with a voice as if it were coming out of a hidden speaker system. "All captains, assistant captains, seated members of all thirteen court guard companies and all Ryoka, this is Isane Kotetsu, assistant captain of fourth company."

The others all stiffened, listening intently as the situation was explained. Hinata trembled and clung tighter to Ichigo. She didn't like this at all. With the increase in her shaking, Ichigo had looked down and began rubbing circles into her back. "What's that got to do with us?" Ichigo asked, confused.

Uryu explained while Hinata tracked the evil man's spirit pressure. He wasn't alone. Gin was with him, and so was the man with the pretty black skin. Also, the red headed man that had fought with Ichigo was trapped by them. Rukia hadn't gotten away.

"Ichigo . . ." Hinata whispered, glancing at the hill. "Rukia. . . the bad man has Rukia!"

Ichigo spun, ripping her hands from his robes as he did so and stared up at the hill. "That's not possible. Renji . . ."

He began to run back towards the hill, but Hinata grabbed his sleeve. "No, Ichigo! You're not ready to fight him!"

He pulled free. "I came to save Rukia! I didn't just win those fights to let her die now!"

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she watched Ichigo run off, determination in his face.

"Idiot," Uryu said, staring after Ichigo.

. . .

Aizen smirked as the Kurosaki boy and Lieutenant Abari both fell to the ground. Didn't they know that their efforts were useless against him? He redirected his attention to Rukia Kuchiki, who sat a short distance away, frozen from her fear.

"Get up, Rukia Kuchiki," he commanded, advancing on her. He yanked her upright by grasping her execution collar. "Oh, I see. You're weak from the impact of my spirit pressure. Aw . . . but there's no need to worry. It's just easier for me if you walk on your own two feet."

There was a clanking sound behind him. The Kurosaki boy wasn't finished. Amused, he turned to face the orange haired boy once again.

"Ichigo," Rukia gasped.

"Poor thing. He's still conscious," Aizen chuckled.

. . .

Hinata dug her feet into the ground and pulled against the back of Chad's and Uryu's robes. She hadn't been able to stop Ichigo, so the least she could do was stop her friends! "No! You can't help Ichigo this time!" They shrugged her off. "Others are arriving to help Ichigo. Stay here! Stay safe!"

Uryu turned, eyes flashing. "We came to save Rukia, Hinata." He was startled when she fell to her knees, sobbing. "Hinata!"

"We can't help . . . Uryu, you . . . you can't. . . fight. . ."

Uryu froze. Could Hinata sense that he didn't have his quincy powers anymore? He knelt in front of her. "Hinata, calm down. We all came to help Ichigo. That's why we're all here."

She shook her head wildly, her orange hair coming loose from the chopsticks. "It's not safe. We can't help right now. He's too . . . the bad man is too strong."

Uryu reached out to console her when the whole sky seemed to shake. He looked up, followed by the others, and was horrified to see a giant garganta opening over their heads. Hinata looked up as well and squealed in fright, diving forward and burying her face in his chest. "Menos," Uryu whispered in awe as the gaping hole in the sky revealed several ginormous hollows. A loud scream rent the air as the hollows cried out, and behind them appeared a giant eye. "Menos Grande!" Three beams of light shot out of the garganta towards Sokyoku Hill.

Hinata pulled her face away from Uryu to peak up at the sky too. "Ulquiorra," she whispered. Uryu glanced back at her, confused, but his attention was drawn back to the garganta where three figures were being sucked towards the world of the hollows.

. . .

Ulquiorra stiffened, feeling a harsh tug on his spirit pressure. He glanced around, making sure he was alone before releasing a small amount of energy and recognizing the link Hinata had made with him. He closed his eyes and sent a surge of pressure her direction, hoping she got the message. _Stay put; it's not safe here._

He felt her pressure withdraw, then surge back towards him. _I'm scared. The bad man is going to be there soon._

Ulquiorra was startled. How did she know about Aizen? Shaking his head, he sent another message before breaking off the connection. _I'll be fine; stay with your brother._

Their connection went slack, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to multiply. He gritted his teeth and continued through the halls of Los Noches. It was time to prepare to meet Aizen.


	29. Chapter 27 Goodbye's

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 27 Goodbye's

As soon as the Garganta closed Hinata took off. The others eyes went wide as she vanished. In a matter of moments, she was at the top of the hill. Her eyes quickly took in the sight of everything before her, once again resting on Ichigo. She was at his side before anyone even saw that she was there. Everyone was still talking when one by one the top of the hill went silent as they all saw her. She sat cradling Ichigo's head, allowing a little of her spiritual pressure to flow into him to keep him awake until Orihime could come.

Tears made paths down her face as she gently rocked. "I told you, Ichigo, he was too strong."

He slowly opened his eyes and croaked, "But I couldn't let him take Rukia." His eyes began to close.

"Don't sleep Ichigo! Orihime is on her way!"

He gave a tired nod. A hand fell on her shoulder. Looking up she saw Aunt Kitty. "You did good kid." Aunt Kitty reached down and ruffled Ichigo's hair.

. . .

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed as he looked at the girl that had appeared. She had long, bright orange hair that was falling out of a pair of silver chopsticks. She shared an uncanny resemblance with the Ryoka boy. She had a Zanpakuto hanging at her side and was dressed like his Shinigami, but he made a point of knowing everyone who entered into the court guard squads and with her silent entrance along with that outrageous hair he would definitely have remembered her. Hands still resting on his cane, he went to take a step forwards when all of a sudden Yoruichi was in front of him. She had a hard look in her eyes that seemed to dare him to try and approach the girl. It was only a moment before she vanished again, appearing at the side of the young girl and resting a hand on her shoulder.

He shifted his eyes from the scene when Shunsui appeared at his side. "She's an interesting one, isn't she master?"

Yamamoto's eyes went back to the scene in front of him. "You know who she is?"

Shunsui gave a chuckle, "I wouldn't say I know her. She wandered into my barracks and gave me a hug from behind. Her name is Hinata Kurosaki."

"Why didn't you report her?" He looked back at his former student with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

Again a chuckle, "I wasn't sure she was a Ryoka until I saw your reaction and Yoruichi's defense until just know." With a smile on his face he also flashed stepped away to stand by the girl.

Yamamoto was surprised that when he looked back up he saw Jushiro was also standing by her along with a weeping Matsumoto who had draped herself across the girl's shoulders. His eyes narrowed some more when with a quick look around revealed that more people also knew who she was. Hand tightening on the head of his cane, he looked forward. Who was this girl, and how did she have a Zanpakuto? It hadn't come from the Kuchiki girl, that was sure, but how else could she have gotten it?

. . .

Hinata sat at the top of the hill of Rukia's execution three days later. Her eyes searched across the land before her. The whole place was filled with sorrow. After making sure that Ichigo was being healed, Hinata had found herself being dragged off by Rangiku who had drunk herself into a coma over three days, and after dropping her off to a frustrated Toshiro, she had left. She had looked in on Ichigo and her friends who were all in a deep sleep.

So she sat up on the hill gently swinging her legs. She glanced over her shoulder towards the men who were hiding in the woods behind her. They had been following her since Rangiku had pulled her away. Well, if they wanted to play hide and seek then it was her turn to hide.

. . .

Hinata gave a giggle. That was too easy, she gave a sign. What was she to do now? As she had run to hide she had lost her way. She wasn't sure where she was any more. As she walked down the hall, she felt a pulse of anguish. Hinata stopped and looked into the door beside her. There was a girl in a hospital bed, her eyes barely open as tears poured out. Hinata walked over. The girl on the bed didn't seem to even notice her. Hinata found her hand reaching out to touch the girl without her knowing. At contact, Hinata jerked her hand back. There was a dark taint to the girl's soul that was identical to the evil man's spiritual pressure. Hinata looked back at the girl whose eyes seemed to focus on her.

"Help me." A weak voice croaked out.

Hinata cast a look around. She wanted to help her but the feeling of darkness made her hesitate. She took a deep breath before touching the girl again. Her hand jerked back once again.

The girl's tears increased, "Please."

Hinata thought for a long time about what she could do. She gave a nod as she realized what she needed to do. She performed reiraku and watched as all the ribbons appeared. Hinata quickly sorted through the ribbons until there were few left in the room. Once she found the girl's, she grabbed it. Just like she had thought, there was a black thread attached. Pulling Niko out, she sliced the thread.

Immediately the other girl's breathing leveled as her eyes closed and her tears stopped. "Thank you."

. . .

Hinata carefully approached her target with silent steps until she jumped on his back. "Shunsui!"

There was a slight huff of air before the larger man turned back and looked at her with a chuckle. "Hinata, my dear! Where have you been?"

"I was with Matsumoto, and I'm playing hide and seek with two men."

"Oh, are you. Have they found you yet?"

"Nope, I haven't seen them in a day!"

Shunsui gave a chuckle. "Old Man Yama ain't going to be happy about that."

"Is it because I'm winning? And who is Old Man Yama?"

With another chuckle he pulled her off his back and placed her in front of him. "Old Man Yama is the man in charge here, and I bet he has all your friends being followed."

Hinata tilted her head. "Why?"

Before Shunsui had a chance to answer though, Jushiro entered. Hinata skipped over to him giving him a great big hug. He gave a laugh as he reached down and ruffled her hair. "How are you doing little one?"

"I'm doing well! Right now I'm playing hide and seek with two men!"

With that Jushiro looked up at Shunsui with a question in his eyes that was answered with a nod. "Well, that sounds like fun."

For the next several hours, both men sat and listened to the girl as she rambled on about her life as a high school student. When she stopped mid-sentence they both looked questioningly at her. "I have to go now. Looks like they have almost found me." She gave each of them a hug. "See you soon!"

Not two minutes after she left a member of the stealth squad appeared. "Have you. . ."

Both men laughed, "You just missed her."

With that, the man vanished again.

. . .

Rangiku sat staring out the window. She wasn't sure how long she had sat there. All she could remember was dragging the orange haired girl off to drink and then nothing else. She wasn't sure why, but the orange haired girl brought her comfort. She was the only one who seemed to believe that Gin wasn't evil.

"You know he did it for you."

Rangiku jumped at the voice. She turned to see the very object of her thoughts standing there. "What?"

The girl smiled down at her. "He wants what's best, but he thinks this is the best way."

Rangiku was still trying to wrap her mind around what the girl had said when she whipped a bottle out from behind her back. "I got this from Shunsui, and I thought you might like it." The girl looked out the window before a frown formed on her face. "Sorry, got to go; they almost found me!" With a wave she was gone.

Rangiku looked to where she had gone before throwing the bottle back. When a member of the stealth force appeared she was already too drunk to even talk to him.

. . .

Hinata found herself atop another hill. Ahead of her was a large man who had the face of a dog looking solemnly at a grave. He felt familiar to her, but as his sadness and sense of betrayal rolled off of him she walked up. She silently grabbed his hand.

He flinched at the sudden touch, and looked down to see a strange girl holding his hand. He tried to pull it away but found that even with all his strength he wasn't able to pull his hand back.

The girl looked up at him. "It will be okay."

He froze. "What?"

"You are sad about your friend who ran away with the bad man, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"You both came to stop Kenny, right?" With his nod she continued, "Even though his spiritual pressure scared me, I could tell that you had a strong bond. If he is truly good, he will come back."

She stated it so clearly that he found he couldn't refute her statement. "What is your name, girl?"

"Hinata, Hinata Kurosaki."

"Sunshine?"

"Yep!"

He gave a nod. "That is a good name. I am called Sajin Komamura."

They stood like that for a moment longer with her hand still in his, except he found that he was desperately trying to hold to her steady hand now.

"Captain Komamura?"

Sajin looked back to see Hisagi standing there. Hisagi gave a look of confusion at Hinata before standing beside them both. "Will caption Tosen ever come back?"

Sajin gave a look at Hinata before looking back into the distance. "Undoubtedly. And when he does, we will knock the cobwebs out of his head."

They all stood there for a long time before Hinata let go of his hand. "Sorry, but it looks like they have almost found me." She gave each of them a hug before she vanished.

They were still standing there when the stealth squad showed up. "Have you. . ."

They both pointed in the direction they had thought she had gone before a nod from the man and he was gone.

. . .

Hinata found Ichigo at the 11th squad fighting with Ikkaku. She sat in the back and smiled. When Kenny entered, she hopped down to stand by him.

"You're looking well, Ichigo. Have your wounds healed?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah! I'm fully. . ." Ichigo started to say before he found himself being pushed back.

Hinata was standing in front of him with her sword drawn, smiling at Kenny as she blocked his sword.

Kenny's eyes where wide. "Why, what do we have here? You are strong girl!"

He went to swing again, but found that she was gone. He looked up to see Ichigo running away, dragging her behind him.

Hinata gave a cheerful wave while yelling, "Tag, you're it!"

"Hey! Get back here!" Kenny jumped out the window.

Yachiru peeked over his shoulder, "Hurry Kenny, we have to tag her back!"

. . .

Toshiro walked out of the room rolling his eyes. Matsumoto was drinking with Lieutenant Kira. He walked to Hinamori's room and was surprised to find her not only awake, but sitting up in bed. He rushed to her side. "Hinamori!" She turned to look at him as he gave her a gentle hug.

"Shiro!"

"How are you awake!?"

She turned away from him, looking out the window again. "I know it's silly, but an orange angel saved me."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed. Orange angel? But all of this was put aside as he talked to Hinamori; he was just happy that she was awake.

. . .

Ichigo was still dragging Hinata when they ran into Orihime who was frantic because she couldn't find Rukia. Hinata could feel that Kenny was still on their trail as well.

"Ichigo, you should go with Orihime. I'm going to play with Kenny."

Ichigo gave her a side look. "Okay, but make sure you are at the gate when we leave."

Hinata gave a smile before vanishing.

Orihime and Ichigo had been running for a while when she looked at him, "Ichigo, you know Kenny is Caption Zaraki right?"

"WHAT!" Was heard throughout the Seireitei, and a certain orange haired girl giggled as she ran.

. . .

Kenny eventually found her sitting in one of many corridors. She smiled up at him.

Kenny laughed. "Finally I get to fight you!" He drew back his blade and ran towards her; she pulled out her own. With each of their swings long trenches were left in the ground and the surrounding buildings began to fall.

Hinata was laughing as she jumped aside once again, dodging one of his attacks. She didn't think twice as a blur of pink approached her, landing on her shoulder. "Tag, you're it! No tag backs!" Hinata smiled at her pink haired friend.

"Well, I've got to go find someone else now!"

Kenny yelled at the air as once again she vanished.

. . .

Ikkaku was trying to find Caption Zaraki when a voice beside him said, "Tag, you're it! No tag backs!" The next thing he knew, he was flying through a wall, creating a crater two walls over.

He was still trying to orient himself as he heard a laughing Yumichika.

. . .

Hinata made it to the gate just as everyone else was showing up. As they were making their way over to her, she looked back to the two original men who had been chasing her along with twenty others who were all crying as they sat on the ground.

Uryu ran up to her, holding out a bundle of clothes. "Hinata! I made you some clothes to wear back to the real world."

Hinata grabbed them with a smile saying, "I'll be right back."

Ichigo had murder in his eyes when Hinata came back wearing something very similar to Uryu, but more feminine. He was about to grab Uryu when Jushiro appeared. "Ichigo, Hinata, can I talk to you?"

They both walked over. Jushiro took in Hinata's outfit with a raised eyebrow. "These are for you." He held out two wooden badges, one with a skull and a cross and the other a lotus flower with a cross.

Ichigo reached out and grabbed his. "What is it?"

Jushiro, still holding Hinata's badge, looked at Ichigo. "It's a substitute soul reaper badge. Because Rukia won't be there with you any more, it will allow you to exit your human body so you can still fight."

Ichigo nodded his head in acceptance before looking back at the other one. "Why does Hinata need one?"

Jushiro looked confused. "What?"

Before Ichigo could say anything, Hinata grabbed the badge. She wasn't sure what is was but something about it felt off and it made her worry.

Ichigo was looking at her with confusion, but then there was a call from the others saying they were leaving. Hinata quickly ran around giving everyone a hug, even Rukia's brother who seemed shocked by the act. Taking Ichigo's and Uryu's hands, she walked into the gate along with the others.

. . . Side Story. . .

Ever since that day squad 11's training became an intense game of tag.


	30. Chapter 28 A Family

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 28 A Family

Hinata laughed as they ran through the Senkaimon. Once again, it was melting as they passed through. The whole group was yelling at each other about the state of things. She was laughing so hard she didn't notice when they exited and her foot met air.

Her laughter continued as they fell and they yelled. A flash to her right drew her eye and she saw a massive net flying towards them full of Uncle Kisuke's spiritual pressure in it. She watched with curiously as it wrapped around them.

She could hear Jinta give a yell, "Yeah! Here it comes! I've got you this time, Hinata! Jinta Homeru. . ."

She could feel Tessai's arms wrap around them as he yelled, "Tessai death catch!"

As the net folded out into a carpet Hinata was still laughing.

"Welcome back everyone," Uncle Kisuke called out from the front with a sing song voice.

Hinata skipped over to Uncle Tessai who was holding Jinta as Uncle Kisuke and Ichigo talked. Jinta was frantically trying to escape. "Oh Jinta!" She grabbed him from Uncle Tessai's arms, hugging him and swinging him around as he yelled to be put down. When she was done, she jumped into Uncle Tessai's waiting arms. "I've missed you, Uncle Tessai." She said into his shoulder.

He rubbed her back. "I missed you too." With a final squeeze he let her go.

She walked over to Ururu who hugged Hinata with a shy smile. "I missed you," Ururu said in her small voice.

Hinata then turned back to Uncle Kisuke who had just finished talking to Ichigo and was watching her. She ran up to him and he opened his arms. The force of her run almost threw them off the rug, but Ichigo grabbed Hinata, hauling them back up before returning to his conversation with his friends.

"I'm glad you're safe," was all he said as he hugged her tight. They sat like that for several moments before Uryu called out that this was his stop.

Uncle Kisuke lowered the rug closer to the ground.

Hinata gave Uryu a hug, before stepping back.

Ichigo called out, "See ya Uryu. Let's do it again sometime."

Hinata gave a giggle at Uryu's reply as he sent a smile her way. "Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten, you're a soul reaper and I'm a quincy. The next time we see each other we will be enemies." He sent on final smile towards Hinata before jumping off.

Chad had grabbed Ichigo who looked like he was about to jump off the rug to get Uryu. "Why that lousy. . ."

Uncle Kisuke and Tessai both followed the boy with murder in their eyes.

Hinata gave a cheerful wave. "Bye Uryu; see you at school!" He gave a wave back at her.

They dropped the others off along the way until it was only Uncle Kisuke, Uncle Tessai, Ururu, Jinta, and Hinata were left on the rug. Hinata was sitting next to Uncle Kisuke with her head resting on his shoulder. They were about halfway back when she felt a pulse. She looked down to see the badge that Jushiro had given her. She pulled it out to look at it again as she raised her head off of Uncle Kisuke's shoulder.

He looked over at her movement and his eyes darkened. "Where did you get that, Hinata?"

She looked at him before looking back. "Jushiro gave one to me and Ichigo when we left."

Kisuke mumbled something under his breath before saying, "Can I see it?"

She nodded it as she handed it over. "I need to do a few things and then I can give it back to you."

Hinata nodded. When they made it back they packed the rug once again into a capsule that Ururu could launch. Hinata was standing there, not sure what she should do when Uncle Kisuke appeared at her shoulder.

"You can't go home with Aizen in Hueco Mundo."

Hinata gave a nod. "Can I stay here?"

Uncle Kisuke seemed to think about it for a long time before sadly shaking his head. "With the soul society knowing where I am now, it would be bad for them to know that you are with me. Let's see if Ichigo can take you. We can ask him tomorrow. For tonight it is safe to stay here."

. . .

The next morning Uncle Kisuke gave her back the badge and told her it would be safe for her to hold it now. "Also, Hinata one of my friends is going to start school soon. You should be nice to him."

"I will Uncle Kisuke!" Giving him a hug, she dashed out the door to go to school.

Hinata quickly found Ichigo who hadn't gone into the building yet. "Ichigo!"

He turned in time to receive her hug. "Hey, Hinata."

She smiled up at him.

"You know, it's nice to just be back as school." He cast a look down at her, "Just like how it use to be."

She giggled, "Well almost!" He chuckled to before she continued, "Ichigo, can I stay at your place?"

"Huh?"

"I can't go home right now; it's not safe, and Uncle Kisuke said it's not a good idea to stay with him for now."

Ichigo looked at her with concern. "What about your brother?"

Hinata shook her head. "He was the one who told me it wasn't safe anymore."

Ichigo nodded his head. "Okay, that should be fine. I can't see why Dad would say no."

The rest of the day passed like any normal school day. With Chizuru's attacks, Keigo's rowdiness, and Chad's usual silence it was just like before. Ichigo left class several times when hollows appeared, but Hinata's never went off. Orihime and Chad were quick to follow Ichigo when he left.

When school ended, Ichigo grabbed both Uryu and Hinata and pulled them into another class room before with an unhappy look on his face. He then pulled out a very unhappy lion with stuffing falling out of his head.

"Kuon!" Hinata flew forward and grabbed her friend.

He hugged her back with tears in his eyes. "Hinata! You're safe! You will never believe what those terrible people did to me!"

Ichigo peeled Kuon off of Hinata and handed him to Uryu. "Can you fix him?"

There was an evil glint in Uryu's eyes as he pushed up his glasses, taking Kuon in his hand. "I'll see what I can do."

Hinata clapped as the needle flew through the air. When it was done, Kuon stood before them with a bonnet lined with little flowers. Hinata squealed and hugged him tightly. "You are so cute, Kuon!" There was a rise in dark energy in the room as Kuon was ripped from Hinata's arms. The needle went flying again. Kuon gave cries of pain. When it was all done, Kuon looked the same as he used to except for a quincy cross on the back of his head.

Kuon, who looked to be slightly out of it, looked up at her. "What did I look like before?"

Hinata set out describing it as Ichigo and Uryu talked. When Hinata was done she picked Kuon up and sat him on her shoulder. She gave Uryu a hug and thanked him as did Ichigo. Ichigo went to ask him a question but stopped half way.

"What?" Uryu asked.

"Never mind, sorry," Ichigo finished.

Uryu shrugged and gave a wave over his shoulder as he left.

"You noticed?"

Ichigo turned to look at Hinata. "What?"

"Uryu lost his quincy powers."

Ichigo gave a sad nod. "Yeah." They sat in silence watching Uryu from the window as he left. "Well, let's go get your stuff from Urahara and then we can go home."

. . .

Ichigo looked down at the bag of Hinata's stuff. It was kind of sad that it was only this much. He looked down at her; she was carrying a pillow and singing softly. That was one of the things he loved about her was the fact that she was grateful for what she had and rarely stayed sad. His house had just come into view when he turned towards her. "I should probably warn you my Dad is a little crazy, so don't be freaked out by him."

She smiled up at him. "I'm so excited to finally see him after all this time!"

"We shall see," he mumbled under his breath.

When they got to the door he looked at it for a moment. "Here we go." He looked down to see her smiling up at him still. He opened the door and put her bag down. Then, as she went to take off her shoes, he gently pushed her into the corner against the wall. She looked at him in confusion. He smiled back. "I'm home." He called out as he began to take off his own shoes.

Hinata had just reached down to take off hers off again when she heard a resounding, "Ichigoooooo!" followed by a black and white figure flying through the air towards Ichigo. Ichigo raised his arms and grabbed the foot of his assailant. "Well done my boy you have gotten better, but you have not passed me yet." Hinata watched with wide eyes as a volley of strikes flew through the air. He was moving so fast it was hard for her to get a good look at him.

Ichigo let out a growl, "Dad, we have a guest!"

And just like that the man jumped back and Hinata was able to see him clearly for the first time. He was a tall man like Ichigo with black hair, a smiling face, and kind eyes. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a white doctor's coat. His eyes widened as they fell on her.

Hinata squealed before rushing towards him and giving him a hug.

Both Father and son looked shocked as the girl hugged him. He quickly returned the hug. "Why, who do we have here?"

Ichigo spoke up, "This is Hinata; she is a classmate at school. She's having trouble at home and can't go back. She asked if she could stay with us until she can go back."

Isshin looked at her; there almost seemed to be tears in his eyes. He gave a small nod before answering, "Of course she can! And as such, she is one of my daughters!" He lifted Hinata into the air and swung her around. Her laughter filled the air. He had only spun her a few times before she was ripped out of his arms. He looked with confusion at his arms before looking to see Ichigo holding her in his arms.

"You were going to ram her into the wall, Dad!" Ichigo hissed at him, arms protectively wrapped around Hinata's head.

"What's going on?" Karin called out as she peeked around the wall. Yuzu poked her head out just below Karin's.

When Karin's eyes fell on Hinata, they widened before she began to look back and forth between her and Ichigo.

Yuzu didn't seem to notice because as soon as she saw who it was she ran up to Hinata. "Are you okay?"

Isshin was immediately at Hinata's side looking her up and down. "Are you hurt? What happened?" He was blabbing questions off so fast that Hinata's head was spinning and she couldn't answer any of his questions.

Ichigo gave a sign as he pushed his dad off Hinata before turning to Yuzu, "What do you mean, Yuzu?"

Yuzu blushed. "Oh, sorry, this is the girl that brought the big man who was hit by a car several weeks ago. When I went to go out and get her, she was gone."

Ichigo turned back to Hinata. "You carried Chad?"

Hinata gave a nod of her head, "He was hurt and she helped me carry him to your clinic."

"You were here before?" Isshin asked.

Hinata gave a nod, "I've been over a lot."

"How have I never seen you?"

Hinata shrugged, "It just never happened."

"So what's going on?" Karin interrupted again.

Isshin looked to his daughters and ran towards them only to be met by Karin's foot to his face. Hinata clapped as he was able to talk around the foot. "Hinata is going to stay with us for a while until she can go home again."

. . .

Hinata found herself sitting next to Ichigo for dinner. It was a lot of fun eating with his family. Isshin kept throwing glances her way as if he expected her to vanish at any moment. Yuzu was happily talking away about her day and asked Hinata questions. Karin had a distrustful look in her eye, and Ichigo seemed to just be happy that it had all settled down finally.

"So Hinata, how long have you known Ichigo?" Yuzu asked.

"I met him just over five years ago!"

Isshin seemed to choke on his food then, and Ichigo reached over and started pounding on his back. Karin was nodding her head.

"How did you meet him?" She asked after it became clear that her dad was okay.

"I found him wandering around a park by himself, and I saw a monster try to eat him so I saved him!"

This time, both Ichigo and Isshin spit out their drinks. "Hey!" Karin called as both of their drinks ended up on her.

"There was a monster?!" Ichigo asked looking at her.

"Yep!" she giggled. "That's why I fell down the hill; I told you silly."

"You see monsters, Hinata?" Isshin asked in a quiet voice.

"Yep! All the time!"

A look of worry passed his face.

Dinner ended shortly after. Yuzu said she didn't need help, but Hinata stood over her shoulder watching what the younger girl was doing and asking questions. When she finally made it up to her little room, she smiled. Isshin had been so sorry about its size, but it was the only room they had. She liked it though; it was a pale yellow with stripes of pink. She climbed into her bed and was out instantly.

. . .

Isshin carefully shut the twins' door. Ever since Ichigo had been born he had taken to checking on them before he went to sleep. Masaki had laughed at him, but he couldn't help himself. He just wanted to make sure they were safe. It had become more important after her death. He found himself right outside Hinata's room. It had surprised him when he had seen her; she looked so much like Masaki. There were so many little things that seemed to be adding up, but he couldn't hope to let himself believe in his suspicions. Masaki had told him the morning of her death that she was pregnant again. The morning of her death, they had planned to tell the children that night, but Masaki had never come home.

So when the girl had walked in looking just like Masaki, he had been shocked. She couldn't be his child though. She was clearly Ichigo's age, but she had met him only a year after Masaki's death, and there was the fact that she could see Hollows, but not just see them, she could kill them! His spiritual pressure had been coming back slowly over the last year, and he could tell that the girl had power.

He gently opened the door so as not to awake her. Tears filled his eyes. She truly did look just like his wife. He checked the hall to make sure that no one else was there before entering the room.

He walked over and gently placed his hand on her head. She shifted in her sleep, pressing closer to his hand. "Daddy," she mumbled.

Tears filled his eyes again. He could feel it now. He had to focus, but he would always remember that spiritual pressure. He leaned down, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, sweetheart." He left the room with a determined look on his face.

. . .

Isshin burst into the shop only to find Kisuke waiting for him with a resigned look on his face. Isshin grabbed him by the shirt, slamming him into the wall. "How long did you know?" he growled.

Kisuke arms were held out in surrender. "Calm down."

"How long?"

Kisuke dropped his arms. "I found her about four years ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Did you notice?"

"What?"

"She's not human, Isshin. She's not from the soul society either. She's an arrancar." Kisuke spoke in a quiet voice.

Isshin dropped Kisuke and took a step back. What?! That wasn't possible.

"When I found her she was following Ichigo around killing hollows. She looked no older than six then. Back then her mask was bigger; it was no more than a quarter on the side of her head. If I hadn't been looking for it, I wouldn't have known myself."

"Where is her mask?"

Kisuke seemed to ignore Isshin as he continued his story. "Later that same day, she barged through the shop giving me a hug that knocked me out." A smile crossed his face. "She started calling me Uncle Kisuke after that. I watched her grow for four years." He sent Isshin a side glance. The man had fallen to his knees. "The older she got, the more spiritual pressure she had. Her mask got smaller and smaller to the point where today you would never now that she was an arrancar. Her mask are those two little white pins in her hair." He tapped the right side of his head to indicate where they were. "I made her a gigai so that she could go to school with Ichigo and his friends." He gave a chuckle, "You know, all she ever wanted was to be normal. I don't even know if she has realized that Ichigo is her brother."

"Why. . ."

Kisuke gave a small smile then looked off into the distance. "At first, I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure. You were still suffering from Masaki's death and I didn't want to hurt you any deeper than you already were. As time passed I fell in love with the little girl who called me Uncle. I didn't want anything to hurt her."

Isshin found himself crying. It was true; she was his daughter. He had missed so much of her life. He dragged himself to his feet. He wasn't going to miss anymore. He walked to the door.

"Isshin," Kisuke called out as Isshin was at the door to leave, "I need to warn you, she's not stable."

"What do you mean?"

"With her mixed heritage, her body is slowly trying to shut down."

"What!"

Kisuke gave a sad nod. "I have noticed since I started studying her. Her body can't take the strain it is under. It's why I gave her the gigai. You must have noticed that it is sucking her spiritual pressure; it's my hope to prolong her life. It seems to be working, but her powers have only gotten stronger. There will come a time when even I won't be able to help her anymore."

Isshin gave a nod. "Thank you Kisuke."


	31. Chapter 29 Released from Bondage

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 29 Released from Bondage

Hinata was so excited. They were getting a new student, and she couldn't wait to meet them. When a tall, yellow hair haired man walked in, she was confused when the teacher introduced him as a new student. She had noticed his spiritual pressure before; it had followed her and Ichigo home from school the last two days, but it had never shown any hostility. There was an underlying feeling of a hollow about the man, so she had been careful.

After writing his name up on the board, he turned around and said, "Shinji Hirako. Nice to meet you."

Hinata found herself clapping as she noticed that he had wrote everything up on the board backwards. The teacher just stared at the board, shaking her head. "Any questions for Mr. Hirako?" Hinata's hand shot up. "Yes, Ms. Kurosaki?"

"Aren't you too old to be in school?"

Everyone's eyes widened at her question. Even Shinji's eyes went wide at the unexpected question. "Ms. Kurosaki! Mr. Hirako is not that old; he is your age just like everyone else. Mr. Hirako, go and take a seat in the back."

He took the seat that was across from Ichigo and kitty corner from Hinata. Shinji exchanged a few words before Ichigo's badge went off and he raced out of the room saying he needed the bathroom. Hinata gave a giggle. Shinji watched her closely. When lunch came, he walked up to her.

"Hey, Hinata!"

"Hi, Shinji."

"So I have to ask: why do you think I'm old?"

She tilted her head and looked at him with confusion on her face. Before she had a chance to answer, Chad appeared at her shoulder and grabbed her arm. "Hinata, want to eat on the roof top?"

"Yep! See you Shinji!"

As they walked away, Chad shot a distrustful look over his shoulder.

. . .

Ichigo had left once again right after school to go and catch another hollow. Hinata had found herself walking home with Uryu.

"Uryu, why haven't you told them?"

"Huh?" He asked, pushing up his glasses.

"Silly, you don't need to pretend. I can feel your feelings of uselessness." She reached out grabbing his hand.

His eyes began to fill with tears that he seemed determined not to let fall. "What else can I do though? I have lost my powers to help protect anything." He swallowed. "I lost the ability to protect you."

She shook her head. "Uryu, your powers aren't gone."

"Hinata, they are gone. I've tried using them, but they're gone."

"They are still there, just smaller." She reached out and grabbed his other hand as well, looking him in the eye. She focused hard and transferred some of her quincy spiritual pressure over to him, careful not to allow any of her Shinigami or hollow to cross the link. "Try now."

She could tell he was humoring her as he went to draw his bow. His eyes widened as it materialized; it was fragile and flickered before it collapsed. He looked up at her with hope filled eyes. "What did you do?"

She smiled. "I gave you a little of my spiritual pressure. Without having a little of your own power, it would have been completely rejected." She squeezed his hands.

"Can you give me more?" She could hear the desperate tone in his voice, his plea for help.

She shook her head. "If I gave you more, it would just collapse like it did before. You need to find your own powers and grow them again."

"How do I do that?"

"Uryu, you know more about Quincies then I do. You will figure it out."

They had arrived at Ichigo's house then, and he walked her to the door. She was about to open the door when it flew open and Isshin was standing there. He glared at Uryu.

"Hello, Mr. Kurosaki."

Isshin seemed to look the boy up and down. "Who are you?"

Hinata gave a giggle. "This is Uryu. He is my friend!"

Isshin's eyes fixed on their hands. Uryu quickly pulled his out of hers before pushing up his glasses. "Sorry Hinata, I have to go. Have a pleasant evening." With that, he turned and walked away.

Isshin watched him until he was out of sight before smiling at her. "My daughter!" He scooped her up into his arms giving her a big hug. "How was your day?"

"It was great, dad! There is a new kid at school who is super old!"

"What do you mean he is super old?"

"He's around Uncle Kisuke's age!"

. . .

When Ichigo had finally made it home, he was exhausted. They had gone to his room where Hinata sat teaching him what he had missed. Kuon sat on her shoulder watching them as they worked, asking a question every once in a while.

"Do you think Rukia will come back?" Hinata looked up Kuon who had spoken.

Ichigo was the one to answer; "I'm sure she will come back."

"Really?"

Hinata nodded. "She loved it here; she just needed to finish a few things."

There was silence as Ichigo worked on his homework. "Can I stay in Hinata's room?" Kuon asked.

Hinata was about to answer when Ichigo shot forward, grabbing Kuon and glaring at him as he growled, "No." before he could say anymore though, his badge went off. "Sorry Hinata, looks like I have to go." He grabbed the badge, knocking himself out of his body before taking Kuon and placing the green soul into his own body before jumping out the window.

Kuon popped his shoulders before turning to Hinata. "So what do you want to do?"

She smiled. "Want to follow Ichigo?"

Kuon gave a smile and a shrug. "Why not?" He reached down, picking her up in his arms before looking out the window both ways before jumping out.

When they found Ichigo, Hinata was surprised to see Shinji standing behind him.

"Who's that?" Kuon asked.

Hinata's eyes narrowed as Shinji swung his sword down towards Ichigo. She grabbed her own badge and threw it the man. Shinji seemed to have been about to say something when the badge collided with the side of his head, throwing him back a few feet. With shocked eyes, he turned in time to receive a kick to the face.

Shinji turned to find Ichigo's body with its foot still raised. In his arms was the girl Kisuke had told him about.

Shinji smiled, "Well, at least now I don't have to go and find you."

Ichigo's spiritual pressure rose with his anger. Moments later, Hinata felt the appearances of several strong hollows. Kuon stiffened under her as he turned to look in the direction of the hollows that had appeared.

Shinji smirked. "See, I told you. It's because you didn't check your spiritual pressure."

Ichigo yelled, "Who are you!"

"You really want to know who I am?" Shinji's eyes lit up. As he drew his hand to his face Kuon stiffened, staring at Shinji before jumping backwards. Hinata grabbed Kuon's arm to keep from falling. She had also felt the rise in hollow spiritual pressure. "Recognize this?" Shinji's voice came out distorted like a hollow's.

Hinata's eyes narrowed at Shinji; even though he was part hollow, she couldn't feel any killing intent coming from him. "Kuon, take me to the hollow."

He looked up at her questioningly, but with a nod he took off.

"Hey!" she heard Shinji call out as they ran, but his voice was cut off by a clang of swords.

"Leave her alone!" Ichigo yelled.

Kuon ran at full power to make it to Uryu. Hinata could feel his frustration. There were several spikes in spiritual pressure that Hinata thought where Quincy weapons. When they were almost there Hinata jumped out of Kuon's arms, throwing herself and grabbing Uryu out of the air as the hollow extended its tongue to grab him. As she collided with him, she felt another spike in spiritual pressure as a quincy arrow flew through the air, severing the hollows tongue.

Hinata landed on the ground holding Uryu before placing him on the ground. He cast a look towards her, then to the man with white hair and glasses who had appeared. "Tsk, tsk, how clumsy, Uryu."

Hinata watched the man curiously. To her surprise, Uryu grabbed her arm and pushed her behind his back as he pushed up his glasses. "You," Uryu growled, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice, "Ryuken."

"Is that any way to address your Father?" the man asked, walking closer.

Hinata peered around Uryu's shoulder, understanding making her eyes widen. She tugged on Uryu's sleeve as she whispered, "You told me your dad wasn't a Quincy. How come I never got to meet him before?"

"You haven't changed, Uryu." Ryuken was acting as if Hinata wasn't even there; his attention was focused solely on Uryu.

Hinata sensed another hollow, and turned around, drawing her own quincy bow instinctively. Two arrows shot towards the monster hanging above hers and Uryu's heads, killing it instantly. Hinata didn't know whose arrow had reached first, but she could tell that Uryu's dad was powerful. Uryu grabbed her hand, causing her bow to vanish.

"So this is the quincy girl you've been training," Ryuken said, advancing further, finally taking notice of Hinata. His eyes widened briefly when he saw her, but then he returned to his normal glare.

"Leave her out of this," Uryu spat. "It's none of your business."

"Oh, really? Tell me, Uryu, why it is that she has better control of her power than you do if you're the one who's been training her? "

Uryu ignored his question, squeezing Hinata's hand tightly. "Why do you have the powers of a quincy? You despise quincies. I thought you gave up your powers a long time ago."

Hinata brought her free hand to her mouth, trying to keep from giggling as Uryu's dad pushed up his glasses the exact same way that Uryu always did. She could tell that they didn't get along, but neither of them seemed to know just how alike they were to each other.

"You're a fool, son. And you're rude. I chose my words very carefully. 'I'm not interested in quincies. And you don't have the talent for it anyway.'"

Hinata's eyes narrowed at that. She pushed past Uryu to stand in front of him. "That's not true! Uryu's a great quincy!"

Ryuken's lips twitched upward in a half smile. "This is none of your business, girl. If he had the talent, then why did he lose his powers so foolishly?"

"Hinata, don't," Uryu whispered, trying to pull her back again.

"Unfortunately," Ryuken continued, "my powers are harder to get rid of than his were. Whether I'm 'interested' or not, I am the sole heir to the powers and skills of the late Soken Ishida. He is the last quincy." Ryuken held out a quincy cross that looked different from the one Uryu wore and the one he had given to Hinata.

Uryu's eyes widened when he saw the cross. Hinata just crossed her arms, refusing to budge when Uryu tried moving her again.

Ryuken's expression was one of amusement once again. "What is your name, girl? You're almost as rude as my son is."

"Hinata," Hinata answered coolly. "Hinata Kurosaki."

"Funny, I don't remember Isshin having another daughter."

Uryu finally managed to pull Hinata behind him again when she heard Isshin's name. "You know my dad?" Before he could answer, another hollow attacked from above. Ryuken didn't move this time as Hinata drew her bow and killed the hollow.

"Interesting." Ryuken was avoiding Hinata's question. "It seems as if you're a better teacher than student, Uryu. Kurosaki, you're dismissed."

Hinata stared at him. Uryu turned and gently pushed her down the street. "Go, Hinata. This is between me and him. Go back to Ichigo."

"But – "

"Go!"

Giving him a quick hug, Hinata ran off towards where she could sense Kuon. The last she heard of their conversation was "I can restore your powers . . ." before she was out hearing range. Kuon wasn't far. He had been fighting hollows while she had been with Uryu. She turned and looked back towards where she had come, but decided Uryu was right. She couldn't help him right now. She had to help Ichigo instead.

. . .

Isshin sensed the appearances of several hollows. Over the past year, it had become easier and easier to sense them, and today he almost felt like a soul reaper again. Before he knew it, he instinctively stepped out of his gigai. It felt . . . wonderful! He turned around and stared at the gigai for a moment before dancing around happily. He had thought he'd never be able to be a soul reaper again!

He quickly scanned for Ichigo's and Hinata's spirit energies before slipping back into his gigai. There were a lot of hollows, but he knew Ichigo was more than capable of taking care of himself. He shifted his attention to Hinata; she was surrounded by hollows and was fighting alongside Kuon, Ichigo's substitute soul. Without a second thought, he raced towards his daughter.

Once he neared where they were fighting, he abandoned his gigai, enjoying the freeing sensation once again. He peered around the corner to see Hinata and Kuon taking a moment to recharge before the next hollow attacked. Grinning, Isshin jumped out, knocking Kuon out of the way as he drew his sword. "How 'bout you play with me instead?" he taunted.

"Hi daddy!" Hinata called as she sprung forward, a sword grasped in both hands. "Watch this!"

Isshin stood frozen as he watched his daughter fearlessly and effortlessly slice through the hollow with her sword. Despite his desire to protect her, he felt tears of pride welling up in his eyes. "That's my girl," he whispered.

Hinata landed gracefully as the hollow dissipated and turned with a wide grin on her face much like the way Masaki had used to look at him after fighting a hollow. She rushed into his open arms, giving him a surprising bone-crushing hug. Isshin took a moment to wonder how exactly Kisuke had managed to merge her hollow spirit with a gigai, but the moment passed as she lifted her head and kissed his cheek.

"Daddy wanted to kill that hollow," Isshin whined, squeezing Hinata in a tight hug.

"Oh, sorry," Hinata giggled. "You can kill the next one, daddy."

"What the . . . how . . . ahhh?" Kuon gasped from behind them.

Isshin had forgotten Kuon was there. However, another hollow was approaching, and so he released Hinata, forgot about Kuon again, and sprang forward. He landed behind the hollow after slicing easily through its mask. "Ha! Too easy!" he laughed. His sword vibrated in agreement; it had been too long since they had fought hollows together.

The sound of clapping drew his attention. He turned and bowed as Hinata clapped and cheered for him. Kuon was still sprawled where Isshin had knocked him over and was staring at him in shock. "You look so good as a Shinigami, daddy," Hinata said, slamming into Isshin's arms again. Isshin was impressed that Hinata's momentum forced him back a few feet.

"Thank you, dear," Isshin said, kissing the top of her head. "It's nice to be free of that gigai."

Hinata giggled. "I agree!" She pulled free of his arms and slipped out of her own gigai. "Look what Uncle Kisuke taught me! _Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six_! Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro!"

At first, Isshin was startled by the burst of Hinata's spiritual pressure as she left her own gigai, but his jaw dropped open as she performed a Bakudo on herself. To his surprise, she had the yellow bars of light around her waist and was spinning around as if the Bakudo were a skirt. He clapped for her benefit, but inwardly he was cursing Kisuke. Why had he taught her such a high level Bakudo?

Speaking of the devil, Kisuke Urahara appeared at the end of the street, casually walking forward. "Long time no see, Isshin. Beautiful skirt as always Hinata!"

Hinata's Bakudo shattered as she spun and ran into his arms. "Uncle Kisuke!" she cried, flying into his arms. Isshin couldn't help smiling when Kisuke barely managed to stay on his feet after the force of her impact. "Ummm . . . you know Ichigo's coming, right?"

"He won't be here for a while," Kisuke assured her. "There are more hollows that he's going to take care of first, and he knows you're not alone."

"Ok!" she said brightly.

"So," Kisuke said, turning his attention to Isshin now, "how does it feel to take the form of a Shinigami that you abandoned twenty years ago?"

"So-so," Isshin said, acting aloof.

"Don't lie, daddy! You're so excited to be out of your gigai!"

Kisuke chuckled. "Your daughter is one of the most innocent and honest people I've ever met. You really shouldn't lie in front of her."

Isshin scowled. Unfortunately, Kisuke was right; he couldn't lie in front of Hinata.

"Is your heart free of guilt now?" Kisuke asked.

"Somewhat . . ." Isshin said slowly. "Truth is . . .I never hated hollows like that. But, if there was something that I haven't been able to get over during these past twenty years, it was my inability to save Masaki that night."

"You haven't changed one bit. With that attitude, you really resemble your children."

Hinata giggled. "That's what momma said too! She told me daddy was a lot like me."

Both men turned to stare at the girl. "Momma?" Isshin choked.

"Yep! In here!" she said, tapping her head just below the bone clips in her hair.

Both men relaxed; she must call the person in her inner world her mother.

"Oh," she said as an afterthought, turning to Kisuke again. "Shinji isn't very happy that I ran away to fight hollows while he talked to Ichigo. Ichigo doesn't like Shinji much."

Isshin sighed. "Just like you predicted. They contacted him."


	32. Chapter 30 Brothers Meet

I do not own Bleach

Thank you to all who have been reading our story up until now and for all the reviews they truly help motivate us to keep writing and updating on time even when our lives are crazy.

Chapter 30 Brothers Meet

Hinata sat and listened to them talk for a little bit more before she felt the arrival of more hollows. She ran up and gave her dad and Uncle Kisuke a hug, "Got to run love you!" She grabbed Kuon's hand dragging him a few steps before he scooped her up and off they went again.

. . .

Hinata sat in her chair swinging her legs slowly the next morning at school. The air was thick with both Ichigo and Uryu in deep thought. Hinata leaned forward, propping her chin on her hand. She felt that they both needed to come to the answer themselves. She perked up when Orihime walked in.

"Good Morning, Kurosaki-kun! Hinata!" Orihime said cheerfully while waving.

It was quickly followed by Shinji waving and cheerfully saying, "Morning, Ichigo-kun, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata giggled as she clapped, jumping to her feet. She gave Orihime a big hug, "That was so cool Orihime!" She then turned to Shinji and gave him a small hug before backing up, "Daffodil!"

The room went quite as everyone looked between Shinji and Hinata. "What?"

Hinata tilted her head. "What?"

"Why did you call me a daffodil?"

"Daffodils are always looking into the water like a mirror!"

Shinji raised his eyebrow. "And?"

"You like reversing things just like a mirror!"

Shinji's eyes went wide before he jumped forward and gave her a hug. "You remembered from yesterday and even gave me a nickname!"

There was a yelp of protest from several people before a loud bang filled the air causing all to go quiet again. Everyone turned to see Ichigo stand up with a dark presence surrounding him. He sent a glare towards Hinata and Shinji before marching over and grabbing Shinji. "We need to talk." His voice was low and left no room for argument as he dragged Shinji out of the room.

Hinata watched them leave with a thoughtful look on her face; she went to follow but was stopped by hands on her shoulder. She looked back to see both Uryu and Chad shaking their heads at her. She shrugged before walking back to her seat where she started to swing her legs again.

. . .

After school, Ichigo said he wanted to be alone and had asked if she would be okay to walk home from school. She had told him yes. Everyone else had said they were too busy as well so she sat alone for a while trying to decide what to do. As she was thinking, she reached out with her spiritual pressure to see what everyone was doing. She noticed that Chad and Orihime were following Daffodil, so she smiled and skipped out the door.

Hinata found them talking to Daffodil and a short blond girl with piggy tails in a bright red jump suit. Hinata felt a sudden rise in murderous intent towards her friends. Her sword immediately appeared in her hand. A hollow growl left her throat.

Daffodil's eyes jerked open before he swooped forward, grabbing the girl in the red jump suit and carried her off. Hinata gave another growl before following them.

She found she wasn't able to gain on them in her gigai. She was about to drop it when Daffodil slowed for just a moment, allowing her to be right behind them.

Jumpsuit: "I really, really hate humans. . ."

Daffodil: "I know."

Jumpsuit: "I really hate Shinigami too. . ."

". . . I know. That's why I told you to wait, idiot."

Hinata gave one last burst of speed to appear in front of Daffodil and Jumpsuit. Her anger was forgotten as she felt the feeling of abandonment coming from the girl. Daffodil skidded to a stop and jumped back at her sudden appearance.

"Hinata!"

Jumpsuit squirmed around until she could see Hinata. "This is the girl we are looking for?"

"Why do you hate them?" Hinata asked.

"Huh?" Jumpsuit said.

Daffodil's eyes went wide. "You were following us!"

Hinata ignored him and instead walked forward with her eyes locked on jumpsuit.

"Why do you hate humans and Shinigami?"

Shinji mumbled under his breath, "How come we didn't notice her?"

Jumpsuit was able to break out of Daffodil's arms and jumped to the ground, planting her feet wide apart while crossing her arms. "And what's it to you?"

Hinata turned her head. "You're bitter from. . ." Hinata stopped as she tilted her head to the side, ". . . being abandoned."

Jumpsuit took a step back with wide eyes, and Daffodil looked up with shock written on his face. "How did you. . ." he asked.

Hinata had turned her head to the side though, "Ulqui!" She vanished in the next moment, leaving Shinji and Hiyori standing there watching as she vanished with no trace of her spiritual pressure left behind.

. . .

Kisuke froze and turned to face north. It was that spiritual pressure again. He had noticed it several times throughout the years; usually it followed Hinata around and would go back just before she did. He assumed it was her brother that she always talked about. He relaxed before he remembered Hinata saying that she wouldn't go back to Hueco Mundo until her brother came for her. His eyes went wide as he frantically looked for Hinata's spiritual pressure. She was rapidly approaching her brother's spiritual pressure. "Shi. . ." The rest was lost to the wind as he set out at a rapid pace, hoping to be able to get there before she did. She couldn't go back to Hueco Mundo right now.

. . .

Hinata arrived just as the dust was settling. Ulqui was standing in the crater with a tall man with a large white cone above his head. He was giving off an evil feel that scared her slightly. Ulqui also looked different; he was wearing a white outfit that showed off his hole unlike his normal green clothes. She watched in horror as the scary man took a deep breath, eating hundreds of souls around them.

Hinata's eyes went wide as she let out a deafening scream.

Ulquiorra looked over with a lazy gaze to see who was yelling. When his eyes fell on Hinata, they went wide. She wasn't supposed to be here. He sent a look to 5 to make sure he wasn't looking before running to Hinata. He felt his heart wrench at the horror in her eyes. She turned those eyes to him; they begged for him to tell her why. All he could do was say, "I'm sorry," before slamming his hand into the back of her head and knocking her unconscious.

Ulquiorra went back to where he had been standing originally in a heartbeat so that when 5 looked back with a look of disgust on his face it was as if Ulquiorra had never moved. He kept his voice flat as he said, "What did you expect from weak spirits?" Ulquiorra hadn't wanted Hinata to see this, but he had to do it for the sake of keeping her hidden. He kept talking to the insufferable arrancar he had been sent on this mission with. He felt a spike in a weak spiritual pressure that was struggling to live. He was about to point it out when he turned and noticed that it was one of Hinata's friends. Skillfully, he stepped to block her from view. He raised his spiritual pressure to knock the girl out. He made sure not to kill her though. Once he was positive her spiritual pressure was too weak for 5 to notice, he spoke up, "We are never going to find him if we stay here. Let's go."

They began to walk when 5 suddenly stopped. "Why, what do we have here?" He stopped in front of the prone shape of Hinata's friend before a maniac look crossed his face.

Ulquiorra cursed in his head. He was about to step forward when another of Hinata's friends appeared and blocked 5's attack. Ulquiorra cursed again; how was he going to be able to keep her friends alive if they seemed determined to die! Espada 5 didn't care about anything as long as he got to fight and kill. Maybe if he distracted him long enough, they would be able to get off by just being injured. Ulquiorra closed his eyes as 5's sword came down, cutting off the brown boy's arm. "Stop playing with this trash. We have bigger people to fight." He turned to walk away when 5 called out.

"It won't take much longer!" he said with a laugh.

There was nothing more he could think to do in such a short time. As much as it would hurt Hinata for her friends to die, it would hurt him a lot more if she was to be caught by Aizen and brought down to the world he was living in. He watched with interest as the girl ran back and blocked 5's attack with a shield and then began fixing the other boy's arms. He walked closer as she seemed to be summoning another object. It went flying towards 5 who had a blood thirsty look on his face. Faster then either of them noticed, Ulquiorra's hand shout out, catching the red and black winged creature. The girl gave out a yelp and the small creature began cursing at him. He looked it up and down before throwing it back to the girl who ran to catch it. Well, at least that keeps her safe.

He barely thought that before 5 ran past towards the girl. Ulquiorra didn't move this time; he had felt the approach of Hinata's brother for a while now. He wasn't surprised when 5's sword was caught by the orange haired boy. Ulquiorra gave a small sigh. This is where his real work would start.

He lost sight of the boy for a few minutes as he talked with 5 before Ulquiorra heard him yell out Bankai! There was a slight increase of spiritual pressure, but Ulquiorra wasn't impressed. He cast a quick glace off to the side where a man with a green and white hat, one of Hinata's Uncles, stood holding Hinata in his arms. That man had more suppressed spiritual pressure then her brother did right now. The man sent a nod to Ulquiorra before flash stepping away. At least she was safe for sure now. He turned back to the boy in front of him.

"He said Bankai! Hey 4, this is the guy Aizen wants right?"

"Yeah. The orange hair and the black robes, he's our target 5."

Espada 5 gave an evil chuckle before licking his blade. "Finally a real fight and," he rushed forward to meet the boy's blade, "I didn't even have to find him! Looks like you can hold my hits!"

"Are you the one who ripped off Chad's right arm? I'm going to take yours." He leapt forward but was easily blocked by 5.

"Hahahahah, you think you can take my arm with a weak assed attack like that!"

There were a few more exchanges before Ulquiorra noticed a rise in hollow spiritual pressure coming from the boy. With the rise in his spirit pressure, the boy began to take a beating. He wasn't in any danger of dying yet, so Ulquiorra was content to just watch from the side. He cast a look to the side as a flash of green ran forward and a flash made a red shield appeared and blocked 5's attack. When the shield shattered, he saw that it was Hinata's Uncle again along with her Aunt. He stared, trying to figure out why Hinata called her Aunt Kitty.

"Oh goody, more people to kill! Are you stronger than the boy?" Espada 5 asked with a sick smile crossing his face again. When no answer came, he jumped in only to find himself sent flying through the air by the Aunt.

It was entertaining to watch as the taller man was beaten down time and time again by the smaller women and how she seemed determined to ignore him. When the Uncle stepped in, Ulquiorra knew it was time for him to step in. Aizen had told them that there were two people they needed to worry about, and they were standing in front of them right now. As much as he would like to have 5 die here, Aizen would not be pleased, so when the Uncle cried out, "Cry Benihime," Ulquiorra jumped in the way and swiped his hand through the attack causing it to collapse. The Uncle's eyes went wide as he saw Ulquiorra block his attack.

Swinging his arm back, he gave 5 a solid punch to the gut, causing him to hunch over. "What are you. . ." With another jab the taller hollow fell over unconscious.

"You failed." He looked back up at the man in front of him. "Take care of her," he spoke just loud enough that he knew the Uncle would hear. With that he threw 5 over his shoulder. Turning to leave, he threw his arm out to open a garganta.

"Why did you stop me?"

He looked over his shoulder towards the Uncle. "Aizen will be mad if he loses another one."

The Uncle took another step forward. "What will you tell Aizen?"

Ulquiorra cast his eyes over to where the brother lay glaring up at him. "The 'fake' Shinigami he is so interested in is just a piece of trash unworthy of his attention." With that he stepped into the garganta and watched it close.

. . .

Hinata felt trapped in darkness. She was scared. There was so much darkness, and she couldn't find a way out. She sprang up on her mat screaming. She heard the pounding of footsteps running closer. She tried to stand up but found that her legs weren't working right. She frantically tried to crawl away. She didn't know where she was. When the door flew open, she backed into the corner to see Uncle Kisuke run towards her.

"Shhhhh, it's okay Hinata, it's okay."

Tears spilled down her face, "It's not. . . they. . . they. . . they are all. . . they are all. . . they are all dead! Ulqui. . . Ulqui just stood there. . . he stood there and watched them die!" Her wailing rose in volume as she tried to push Uncle Kisuke away.

'Shhhhh, it's okay, Hinata. Ichigo showed up and saved them. They are okay."

Hinata cried loader. "No they're not!" She pushed this time with a flare of spiritual pressure that threw Uncle Kisuke across the room. "I want my Daddy!" She was able to get to her feet this time as she ran to the door.

Uncle Kisuke was in the way again. "Hinata, calm down!"

Hinata backed away from him. She could feel her spirit begin to vibrate as it tried to leave her gigai, she but found that she couldn't. "What. . . What. . . What did you do?"

Uncle Kisuke gave an ashamed look. "It. . . It was to protect you."

Hinata found herself trapped in the corner as Uncle Kisuke kept coming closer. "Help!" she cried out as she tried to bat his hands away.

"That's enough, Kisuke."

Hinata looked up to see her dad standing in the door. She dashed past her uncle and into Isshin's waiting arms. He wrapped his arms around her tight.

Kisuke looked like he had been stabbed. Isshin sighed, "Don't feel bad, Kisuke. She had a traumatic experience and she's scared, but I think you have done enough today. I'm taking her home."

With that he picked her up in his arms and carried her, humming to her softly. She kept mumbling about how Ulqui wouldn't do such a thing and how it had been so scary.


	33. Chapter 31 Soul Friends

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 31 Soul Friends

Ichigo sat at his desk staring at the ground. He gave a small sigh. He had failed them all. Orihime was walking around in several casts, Chad was so hurt he wasn't even able to come to school, and Tatsuki had almost died. Then there was Hinata. He didn't remember even seeing her there, but he had heard her once it was over.

Tessai had been healing him in one of the rooms when a scream started ripping through the air. It had been a scream of pure terror and horror. What made it worse was that he had known it was Hinata. He had tried to jump up, but Tessai had pushed him down. He had tried to fight, but Tessai refused to let him up. He had watched Kisuke run past the room with worry etched into his face. Tessai had used some kido to make it so Ichigo couldn't hear what was happening anymore. It seemed like forever before he watched his father walk past the door cradling a sobbing Hinata in his arms. She had looked so small and young then.

This morning when he had gone in to wake her up he had found her face still streaked with tears, and she was curled up in a ball clutching the old man's hands like it was her life saver. He could tell she hadn't slept well that night. He made the decision not to wake her up. Even now the image was burned into his mind.

He raised his head to the sound of loud footsteps making their way down the hall along with voices. The closer they got, the more his eyes widened. The door was thrown open to reveal Renji, Toshiro, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. Ichigo flew out of his chair as he ran over to them demanding to know why they were here.

"It's an order," Renji said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ichigo stared blankly as he tried to wrap his mind around what they were saying. He turned when a voice called out to him from behind, calling him an idiot. Turning, he saw Rukia standing in the window. "Rukia?"

She gave a smirk. "Long time no see, Ichigo."

Before he could say anything more, she attacked him, kicking him in the face before pulling him out of his body and jumping out the window.

. . .

Toshiro rolled his eyes. After Rukia had carried off Ichigo the whole lot of them had started bickering. He looked around the room of students who were all staring at them. He tried to keep the twitch off his face as people where asking why there was an elementary school kid here. "Somebody switch places with me, please," he mumbled under his breath. As he looked around, he noticed that the only person in the room he knew was the Quincy boy who was glaring at them from across the room. He looked at the group behind him. "Where are the others?"

The bickering all stopped as they looked at him before looking around with puzzled looks of their own.

. . .

Isshin wrapped his arm around his daughter. She had stayed home from school today and he had decided to stay with her. She was looking a lot better after having finally been able to fall asleep close to six this morning. As it was, they sat in front of the television watching Sailor Moon. He gave a smile; he hadn't watched this in over four years, but Hinata seemed to love it. He had even pulled out the ice cream!

. . .

Toshiro gave a sigh. "Well let's split up and go looking for them." Thankfully, there wasn't too much excitement before they finally found the girl Orihime.

She was coming out of the bathroom followed by another girl when she saw them. She jumped back, hitting her head against the wall as she did so. She swayed before Toshiro grabbed her arm, stabilizing her. "Careful."

When her head finally cleared, she looked down to see him holding her arm, and she jumped back again hitting her head once more. Toshiro sighed as he pulled her away from the wall. "What are you doing here!?" She asked when her head had stopped spinning.

Matsumoto ran forward, giving her a hug. "It's so good to see you! We are here to help protect you guys for a while!"

Orihime tried to give a bow while still in Matsumoto's arms. "Thank you!"

Toshiro cleared his throat causing both women to look down at him. "Where is everyone else?"

"Chad is still at Urahara's healing, Ichigo and Uryu are in the classroom, and Ichigo said Hinata stayed home with his Dad today."

Toshiro nodded his head. "We'll wait until Ichigo gets back."

. . .

Isshin backed out of Hinata's room. She had fallen asleep again about an hour ago. When he had been sure that she was truly asleep, he had carried her upstairs. He looked at the clock; Yuzu and Karin should be getting home soon, and he never knew when Ichigo would be home. He went to his desk and began the work he had been putting off.

When the girls got home, he ran out and gave Yuzu a hug and got a foot to the face when he tried to give Karin one. Then he cried to the poster of Masaki about how their baby girl was taking after her rebellious brother.

"Shut up old man!" Karina called out as she walked up the stairs to drop off her bag.

What surprised him though was when he felt Ichigo coming down the road, but he wasn't alone, he was with a Shinigami! Didn't his son know better than to bring Shinigami around his hollow sister? So when Ichigo opened the door and called out, Isshin was waiting for him, jumping down on him from above. During the ensuing fight, Isshin gave a nod of approval. Ichigo truly was becoming strong. When he finally had to jump back for air he saw the Shinigami for the first time. She was a short, petite girl with shoulder length black hair dressed as a student. He allowed tears to prick his eyes before he ran to the picture of Masaki! "My dear Ichigo has brought home another girl!" He felt Ichigo kick him in the back of the head.

"Shut up old man! This is Rukia. She's in the same boat as Hinata and can't go home for a while and wanted to know if she could stay here?"

Isshin stood up and looked her over again. "I'll have to talk to Hinata about it first; she would have to share a room with her."

Ichigo nodded as if he had expected that. Rukia's eyes got big and a large smile started to spread across her face. "You mean I would get to share a room with Hinata!?"

Isshin fought to not let his eyes narrow towards the girl. "Yes. She is asleep right now though, so you will have to wait."

"That's fine, we will wait upstairs." Ichigo grabbed Rukia and started hauling her up the stairs.

As soon as he heard the door shut, Isshin ran to the phone and called Kisuke.

. . .

"Stop laughing at me!" Isshin yelled over the phone, but Kisuke couldn't help himself. Isshin had become overprotective ever since Hinata had moved in with him, and now his concerns brought tears of mirth to Kisuke's eyes.

"She'll be fine!" Kisuke managed to gasp. "Rukia's been going to school with her for months!"

"But what if they find out that she's a hollow?"

Kisuke grinned broadly. "Rukia already knows about Ichigo's hollow. They'll just assume that Hinata is the same: a Shinigami with hollow powers."

There was silence at the other end of the line. "Shinigami?"

"She's your daughter, isn't she? From what I've understood over the past several years, she became an arrancar because she has no physical human form. That's why I gave her the gigai. Her spirit pressure is a mixture of hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy. I don't think any of the Shinigami at your house right now suspects a thing about her hollow nature."

"Shinigami? As in multiple? At my house?"

Kisuke rolled his eyes. "You're as dense as Ichigo, Isshin. They're all upstairs with him right now."

"I've got to go!"

Kisuke let the phone drop as he began to shake with laughter once more. Isshin may be dense, but he was a good father at least. Despite his laughter, he knew he would feel the same way if he were in Isshin's place. Even now, the thought of anyone else finding out about Hinata's true nature, as a hollow frightened him.

. . .

Ichigo looked up as Ikkaku, Yumichika, Rangiku, and Renji all dropped from his ceiling. Yelling, he jabbed a finger at Renji and hollered, "How the hell did you guys get in her?! Wait! No! First I want you guys to fix the light!"

Rangiku began to joke around about how Ikkaku's head would make a great spare lightbulb when Ichigo saw Kuon sneaking towards Rangiku. He went to grab the stuffed lion just as he sprung from the ground, but Rangiku knocked him out of the air without even turning around. Ichigo glared at the stuffed lion while Ikkaku asked, "Is that custom around here?"

"No," Ichigo sighed. "That's just the way he is. He only behaves himself around Hinata."

At that, every single one of them perked up. "Hinata?" Rangiku squealed.

"Where is she?" Yumichika demanded. "I need to see another beautiful face."

"Who's Hinata?"

Everyone turned to stare at Renji as he reclined back on Ichigo's bed.

"She's asleep anyways –" Ichigo started to say, but was cut off as the others turned back to him demanding to see her. "She's asleep!"

"I bet she's adorable when she's sleeping," Yumichika sighed.

"I give up," Ichigo muttered. "Who can sleep through the racket you're all making anyways?"

He led them over to Hinata's door. Renji peaked over his shoulder curiously as Ichigo slowly twisted the knob. Before he opened the door all the way, he turned and hissed, "Don't you dare wake her up. She had a rough night."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Rangiku trilled, pushing at Ichigo in an attempt to peer into the bedroom.

Ichigo felt like he'd just been trampled as they all shoved past him to surround Hinata's bed. Even Rukia had managed to slip under his extended arm, a gleam in her eyes as she held a set of bunny ears behind her back. Ichigo leaned in the doorway feeling sorry for Hinata when somebody else shoved him out of the way.

"Leave my baby alone!" Isshin roared, barging into the room.

Ichigo groaned as all the Shinigami turned to face his father and Hinata stirred. Unfortunately, Ikkaku was leaning over Hinata when she stretched her arm. Her fist caught Ikkaku in the face, sending him flying back towards the window.

"Really, Ikkaku," Toshiro sighed, catching the man before he could crash through the window as he himself climbed into the room, "must you destroy everything when you visit places?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Ikkaku hollered, struggling against Toshiro's grip as he tried to get to Hinata. "She punched me!"

"She was only stretching," Rangiku said, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling Hinata into a tight hug.

Ichigo tried to squeeze into the room, but it was impossible. Isshin had snatched Hinata out of Rangiku's grasp while glaring at all the Shinigami. The others were all crowded around her bed still. Ikkaku was flailing his wooden sword in the corner while Toshiro held him off and the noise was giving Ichigo a headache.

"Daddy, it's okay," Hinata whispered, yawning heavily as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. "They're all my friends."

Isshin didn't look convinced, but let Hinata go so she could sit up right on the bed.

As soon as Hinata spoke, Rangiku's attention was drawn to Isshin. "Captain!" she called, lunging for Isshin.

Ichigo stumbled out of the way as his father fled the room with Rangiku hot on his heels. At the mention of Captain, Toshiro had also looked up in time to see Rangiku speeding out of the room. He too sped past Ichigo yelling for Rangiku to contain herself. Ichigo rubbed at his forehead, his head now pounding.

"So you're Hinata," Renji was saying, looming over the poor girl.

Hinata smiled up at him. "Hi red pineapple! You're nicer than I thought."

Ichigo shook his head at the surprised look on Renji's face. It was going to be a long day.

. . .

Uryu pushed his glasses up as he took a deep steadying breath. He raised his fist, ready to knock when the door to the Kurosaki residence swung open with a tremendous force. Ichigo's dad came hurtling past him; Uryu managed to step out of his way just in time. Isshin turned, skidding to a halt as he took in Uryu's appearance.

"You!" Isshin growled while pointing an accusing finger at him.

Uryu opened his mouth to answer when a familiar sing song voice distracted him.

"Oh Captain!" Rangiku sang, springing from the doorway, eyes on Mr. Kurosaki.

A look of fright crossed Isshin's face as he turned to flee again, yelling over his shoulder, "I'll deal with you later, Ishida!"

Rangiku skipped happily past Uryu, greeting him simply, "Nice to see you, Uryu," before vanishing into the distance.

Soon after she sped past, her Captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya, came running out the door as well. He turned to Uryu, who now stood frozen beside the doorway. "Quincy boy," he acknowledged, scanning for his lieutenant.

"She went that way," Uryu sighed, pointing off in the distance.

The short, white haired captain gave a nod and sped off after the others.

Uryu turned and peered into the open doorway warily. He had just wanted to bring Hinata her homework and check to see if she was okay. Cautiously, he entered the Kurosaki residence, pulling his school bag from his shoulder.

"If you're looking for Ichigo, he's upstairs with his friends," a soft voice said behind Uryu, causing him to jump once more in alarm. He turned to find Ichigo's younger sister smiling up at him and pointing at the stairway.

"Ah . . ." Uryu said awkwardly, pushing up his glasses. "I came to see Hinata actually. I have her homework."

The girl smiled. "They're in her room right now. They're kinda noisy though."

"Thank you," Uryu told her, cheeks warming as he made his way up the stairs. He didn't have to look hard for Hinata's room. Ichigo was standing outside in the hallway looking like he'd been hit by a train (which was also how Uryu felt after witnessing the fiasco downstairs) and familiar voices drifted through the open door. Uryu cleared his throat and grinned when Ichigo jumped.

"Uryu!" Ichigo yelled. "What are you doing here?"

"Hinata missed class. I brought her homework."

"I could have done that!" Ichigo said with a glare.

"Uryu?" Hinata's head poked out of the doorway.

Uryu frowned when he saw how pale she was. Even though she was smiling, she looked as if she could use another day off school to catch up on some sleep. "I brought your homework."

"Who on _earth_ put you into that MONSTROSITY!" another familiar voice hollered from the bedroom.

"It's not a monstrosity!" Rukia yelled. "She looks adorable! Just like Chappy the bunny!"

Uryu closed his eyes, already picturing in his head what was going on in the bedroom. The crazy man with feathers was in there, obviously upset by whatever Hinata was wearing, and Rukia was also in there defending it. He opened his eyes to see that Hinata's head had vanished back into the bedroom. Warily, he peeked into the room, noticing that Ichigo had a hand to his face, and saw Hinata in the middle of a tug of war. She was dressed in a bunny pajama onsie. Uryu felt the blood drain from his face; he had to agree with the feather man – a bunny onsie was definitely not stylish.

"Uncle Kisuke gave it to me!" Hinata told them, her eyes wide.

Uryu moved to save her, but Ichigo beat him too it. Ichigo slid into the room and wrenched Hinata away from the two Shinigami, placing her protectively behind his back. "I thought I told you not to wake her up."

Rukia smiled innocently up at Ichigo. "We didn't wake her up, Ichigo. Your dad did."

Hinata turned to Uryu, pouting. "Don't you like my pajamas?"

Uryu tried to clear his throat, but found himself speechless.

"Sit down!" Ichigo roared. "I thought we were supposed to have a meeting! Do you know how much time you've wasted?"

Everyone in the room shut up instantly and sat down meekly on Hinata's bed. Uryu glanced at them all, recalling all of their names: present were Ikkaku, Yumichika, Rukia, and Renji. Shifting nervously, he realized he had wasted his time here too.

"Um, Hinata," Uryu said slowly. "I have to go, but I'll leave your homework downstairs if that's all right."

Hinata gave him a smile. "Absolutely! Thank you for bringing it."

He stayed long enough for her to give him a quick hug before fleeing downstairs, his cheeks burning. He set the homework on the dining room table, making sure his note about training and his instructions were situated in the middle of the stack before rushing back out the door.

. . .

"You wanted to know about arrancars, right?" Renji asked.

After calling the room back to order Ichigo had been about to take them out of the room when Hinata said she wanted to be involved too! So they stayed in her room under the condition that Hinata lie down in her bed. Ichigo had tucked her in before sitting on the edge looking at the group.

"Arrancars are simply hollows who have abandoned their masks and claimed Shinigami powers," Rukia explained with her notepad out.

Hinata gave a soft giggle as she looked at Rukia's pictures; the little one looked a little like Ulqui. "That's not how it works. . ." Hinata said as she gave a big yawn and snuggled deeper into her blankets. Her eyes were getting heavy.

"Huh?" Everyone in the room turned to look at her. "What do you mean, Hinata?" Rukia asked.

"They don't abandon their masks. If they did, they would be a weak arrancar." She stifled another yawn. "They chose to take their mask off because they don't need it anymore."

Renji was looking back and forth between Ichigo and Hinata who seemed barely awake anymore. "They don't need it anymore?"

Hinata gave a small nod against her pillow. "Their masks hide what they are missing. . ."

"What are they missing Hinata?" Rukia asked. She also had a puzzled look on her face.

When no response came, she walked over to find that Hinata had fallen asleep. When Rukia moved to wake her, Ichigo grabbed her wrist. He held a finger up to his lips and shook his head. He led the group out of her room, silently shutting her door before going into his own room.

Renji was looking at him when he came in. "Ichigo, why does Hinata act as if she knows all about arrancars?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. She was half asleep for the whole thing, so I'm not even sure she knew what she said."

Renji and Rukia both shared a look before continuing on with their explanation of why they were here.

. . .

Isshin stopped and grabbed his knees. It had been a long time since he had had to run like that. Matsumoto had gotten better.

"Are you done running, Captain?"

Isshin jumped back as the voice spoke off to his right. Matsumoto was crouching on the wall looking down at him. He was trying to decide if he could still run when another voice spoke from behind him.

"Matsumoto, what did I tell you about running off!?"

Turning slightly he saw Toshiro standing behind him. His shoulders sagged; he had been caught. After allowing himself a short amount of self-pity, he stood up straight. It was then that the young captain finally seemed to have a good look at Isshin.

"Captain Shiba!"

"Yes."

"I knew it!" Matsumoto ran forward, giving the man a big hug. "Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come back? Because you left, Toshiro became captain, and he makes me do so much work, and he never drinks with me!" She gave a pouty face.

A twitch appeared on Toshiro's face as he flew towards her, dragging her off Isshin as he yelled and chewed her out. Isshin smiled. It was almost like he had never left, but. . . he turned to face the direction of his house. He had a family now that he loved.

He cleared his throat. They both stopped fighting and looked up at him. "I'm no longer the Captain Shiba you know. I'm Isshin Kurosaki, father of four beautiful children who have no idea that I was a Shinigami. I would like to keep it that way. Please don't tell my children about this, and don't tell the soul society either. If they knew I was here, I fear what they would do."

Rangiku just looked at him confused while Toshiro crossed his arms and frowned as he thought about it. Isshin watched them desperately. Hinata was the only one who knew he was a Shinigami, but she hadn't said a word about it to Ichigo. He couldn't help smiling as he thought about his baby girl, but was drawn back to the situation at hand when Toshiro spoke up.

"Matsumoto, have you ever heard of an Isshin Kurosaki?" Captain Hitsugaya asked in a low tone.

"Nope!" Matsumoto said with a grin. "I've never heard of him before."

Isshin smiled weakly. "You won't tell Ichigo either, right?"

Captain Hitsugaya met his gaze. "If we said anything, we'd tell him of a Captain Shiba. I have no interest in a man by the name of Isshin Kurosaki."

The captain turned on his heel and began to make his way back the way they'd come. Rangiku moved to follow him, but turned back to quickly give Isshin a tight hug before running off. Isshin was exhausted and decided to take a moment to rest while he tracked their spirit pressures. He could feel that things had settled down at home and so he decided to take his time returning back to his house.

. . .

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya came in at the tail end of Rukia's and Renji's explanation of arrancars. He had a headache after chasing Matsumoto around, and now it was intensified by Ichigo's blank expression. He sighed and explained further. "Menos are separated by three categories. The first kind is a 'gilian.' These are the weakest type of menos. Consider them a soldier type."

"The one I fought before was just a soldier?" Ichigo whispered in awe.

Captain Hitsugaya rubbed at his temples. "They're slow and stupid. The problem is that the second class are known as 'Ajucas.' They are smaller and more uncommon than Gilian. The third class are 'Vastrode' or 'Vastolordes.' They are the most powerful of any menos, and their size resembles a human more than any hollow. Their numbers are unbelievably small, and they are known only to exist deep within Hueco Mundo. The strength of a single vastrode is above that of any captain!"

Ichigo was frowning. "What about their masks? The one I met in the park yesterday didn't have his full mask."

Captain Hitsugaya frowned as well. "We don't actually know much about that. I suppose their mask has something to do with their power –"

Ichigo cut him off. "So that's what Hinata was saying when she fell asleep!"

Captain Hitsugaya stared at the orange haired substitute soul reaper. "She said what?"

Rukia twiddled with her pen and mumbled, "She was half asleep. I doubt she's even met a full-fledged arrancar. She did mention something about their power being tied to taking off their masks though."

Captain Hitsugaya was halfway to the door when Ichigo grabbed him. "Don't wake her up!" Ichigo begged. Captain Hitsugaya looked down at where Ichigo had grabbed his arm, then back up at the boy. "Please," Ichigo said, "she's already had enough excitement for today. Let her be."

"Fine," Captain Hitsugaya said, pulling free from Ichigo's grasp, " but I have questions for her when she awakens."

Ichigo had a worried look on his face. Did he know something about the strange girl that he wasn't sharing with them? Captain Hitsugaya couldn't shake the feeling that Hinata was more than what she appeared to be.


	34. Chapter 32 Found

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 32 Found

Ulquiorra closed his eyes as he and 5 made their way through the corridors of Los Noches. Aizen was waiting, and it was his job to report. He checked on Hinata's link and then dampened it in order to prepare for his report. Aizen could not know that Hinata had been present while they'd been in the world of the living.

"Ah," Aizen said as they entered, "welcome back. Now, please enlighten us, Ulquiorra. Spare us not even the slightest detail."

"Yes sir," Ulquiorra said emotionlessly as he reached for his eye. He had discovered that he could relay information by crushing his own eyeball, and since his powers focused less on strength he was able to regenerate faster than his companions. The eyeball crumbled in his hand, dispersing through the room as he said, "Now, be my guest. Use me to your heart's content."

Aizen smiled as the scene was relayed to those in attendance. "I see," he said, watching as Ichigo was unable to overpower them. "Then that means the reason you chose not to dispose of him was because you felt he was worthless?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra answered blankly.

"Don't give me that!" Espada 6 burst out. If I ran into such a weakling, I simply would've eradicated I'm with a single blast."

"Grimjaw," Ulquiorra said, turning to face the other Espada. There were other Espada of lower rank that agreed with 6. Ulquiorra managed to keep his face straight, listening to their complaints and abuses. Under all costs, he had to appear to be Aizen's most loyal, most trustworthy arrancar.

. . .

Isshin sat beside Hinata's bed, gently running a hand through her hair as he listened to Ichigo through the open window. The Shinigami were going their separate ways: Rangiku was going to Orihime's with her Captain following discreetly, Ikkaku and Yumichika were wandering the streets, Renji was going to try his hand with Kisuke (the poor soul), and Rukia was left to decide where to go for the night. It had been noisy with all of them in Ichigo's room. Isshin was grateful that Hinata had been able to sleep through their racket.

Hinata rolled in her sleep and grabbed Isshin's hand; her hands were so small and soft, just like her mother's. Isshin smiled and closed his eyes, listening to Ichigo and Rukia bicker down below.

"Why can't I stay here?" Rukia demanded.

"Hinata's sleeping. You can come back tomorrow and ask her when she's awake. For now, find somewhere else to freeload!" Ichigo growled.

"That's not fair!"

"My dad made that rule. He said you needed Hinata's permission."

"But –"

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Rukia."

Rukia cursed while Ichigo went back inside. Isshin listened to him climb the stairs. With a sigh, he decided to get up and check on the girls. He bent to kiss Hinata's forehead and gently withdrew his hand from hers before slipping silently from the room.

. . .

A garganta was opening. Hinata rolled out of her bed, heart racing as she checked for Ulquiorra's spirit pressure. She found his thread, but it was still in Hueco Mundo and he had done something to weaken their link. She frowned and went to the window, leaning out as she searched for the garganta. There were several hollows . . . no, arrancar . . . there were several arrancar coming through the garganta.

Hinata frowned. Why had more arrancar come here? She rushed to her closet and quickly pulled on normal clothes. She burst out into the hallway the same time as Ichigo did. He had sensed the arrancars' spirit pressures too. He turned and looked at her, concern flashing across his face.

"Stay here," he told her, dashing back into his room to grab his soul reaper badge.

"Yeah, right," Hinata muttered, pulling her hair up into a bun with Uryu's chopsticks. She could sense Ichigo leaving through his window and was headed the same direction as Chad; there was a hollow headed his direction.

Hinata checked on the others before slipping out of the house as well. The Shinigami were all on high alert; they would be able to handle whatever came their way. Hinata's target was different. She wanted to see the leader of these arrancar. They weren't very far away. She pulled her cloak around her, silently thanking Nikko as she searched for the strongest of the arrancars' spirit pressures.

She found him crouched atop a building, watching as fights began to ensue. He was a strong one, but he wasn't as strong Ulquiorra. The thought made her smile as she crept closer and examined him. He had blue hair and a wide smile. He reminded her of Kenny a little bit; this arrancar was in it for the fight. His mask covered his jaw on one side of his face and he gave off the aura of a wild jungle cat. The arrancar was laughing as he watched his friends target different people.

Hinata was momentarily distracted when she noticed a spike in Chad's spirit pressure. Ichigo had made it just in time to save Chad; he was still recovering from his previous injuries. However, she could sense a feeling of abandonment coming from Chad. Hinata frowned; what had Ichigo said to Chad to make him feel so useless?

The arrancar she was watching was suddenly moving towards where Ichigo was. Chad had run away from the scene just as Rukia had arrived. Hinata smiled when she sensed a mod soul restrain Ichigo; serves him right for making Chad feel bad. The arrancar Rukia was fighting was soon killed. Before long, Hinata and the lead arrancar arrived at a rooftop looking down on Ichigo, Rukia, and Rukia's mod soul. She could feel the arrancar beside her growing excitedly.

"My brother is stronger than you," Hinata said, crossing her arms as her cloak fell away. Ulquiorra was easily stronger than all the arrancars that had come with this one.

The arrancar spun around and stared at her. "How did you . . .?" he spluttered, eyes widening in surprise.

Hinata leapt off the roof, landing lightly in front of Ichigo. She could still feel Chad's sadness. Ichigo was staring at her too. She glanced up at the arrancar still on the roof, then back to Ichigo. Without warning, she slapped Ichigo, causing him to stumble back a few steps in surprise.

"You hurt Chad," Hinata told him. "Stop being mean to him. He wants to fight with you."

Before Ichigo could answer, Hinata ran off down the street searching for Chad.

. . .

Grimjaw shook his head, baffled. The orange haired girl bore a remarkable resemblance to the boy down below, and her comment had thrown him off guard. How could her brother be stronger than he was?! It took a moment for him to realize that he hadn't been able to sense any spirit pressure from the girl. He tried sensing her now, but there was still nothing. His hackles rose; his instincts screamed at him that she was a hollow, not only a hollow but an incredibly powerful one. He smiled staring off after the girl.

. . .

Hinata raced after Chad. She found him by the river under the bridge Hinata had come to know as Ichigo's and Chad's bridge. He was facing the wall repeatedly punching it. She walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away from her touch and turned, surprised to see her there. "Are you okay?"

He just looked at her with shock still written on his face. "What?"

"Ichigo hurt you, right? Are you okay?"

Chad gave a slow nod before shaking his head sadly. "I can't fight with him anymore. I'm too weak."

Hinata shook her head. "You're not weak Chad! You just need to get stronger!" Hinata raised her arm and flexed it.

A small smile spread across Chad's face. He reached out and gave her small arm a gentle squeeze. "Stronger, huh?"

Hinata gave an enthusiastic nod. "I'll help!"

Chad gave a small chuckle as he shook his head and looked up at the bridge. "Okay, let's get stronger."

Hinata smiled before grabbing him and dragging him away to a nearby park that was big and empty. Once there, she dropped his arm and skipped a few more steps before twirling and facing him. "I'm going to help you get stronger and to gain the survival instinct!"

"Survival instinct?"

"Yep! That way when someone comes to hit you, your body will move out of the way on its own!"

"How?"

Hinata gave a smile and drew her quincy bow. "We are going to play catch!"

. . .

Aizen sat as his screen watching Grimjaw's progress. He had sent one of his new creations, a small hollow that, like Ulquiorra's eye, was able to record what happened around it along with several other recording devices for spiritual pressure. He watched the many battles progress as slowly, one by one, Grimjaw's fraccions were taken out by the Shinigami. He sent the hollow searching for other spiritual pressures. The screen slowly slowed Grimjaw watching the Kurosaki boy and the Kuchiki girl fight one of the fraccions. When Azien looked away for a moment he was surprised to find the orange haired girl beside Grimjaw. He rewound his footage to see when she got there but was surprised to find that she seemed to almost magically show up beside Grimjaw. Even his spy hollow hadn't detected her arrival at all until she showed up on his screen.

He looked down to see the other recorded information and snatched the printed paper off, ripping it in the process. He looked at the paper before looking back at the screen as a smile started to spread across his face. He gave a low chuckle, "Well, well, what do we have here?" The paper in his hand didn't show the arrival of another human, or even a quincy. It had shown the arrival of another hollow.

Turning back to the screen he watched until the girl had left the screen and Grimjaw had engaged the Kurosaki boy in battle. With another smile he sent his spy to go and find the girl.

. . .

Chad was rubbing his hand. There was a burn across the back from where he had almost been able to hit Hinata's arrow. Hinata gave a smile; he was getting better. She had weakened her arrows so that they wouldn't hurt too badly, but it would still hurt until he was able to match his spiritual pressure with hers. The whole idea of "catch" was for Chad to be able to move fast enough to catch her arrows, or punch them as it currently was. He had finally been able to "catch" his first arrow a moment ago but he had missed dozens.

He was still rubbing his hand, but there was a smile on his face now. "Okay, I'm ready," he said with a grunt.

Hinata smiled as she pulled back her bow again. She had just released it when she felt the faint arrival of a hollow. She turned to look at it as it stared back at her. There was something unnatural about it that made Hinata's skin crawl. In a swift movement, she pulled her bow back and sent an arrow clean through it. She turned back to see Chad looking at her puzzled. She sent a smile before sending another arrow ten feet in front of him.

. . .

Aizen was laughing. So the girl had been able to sense his hollow even when all the Shinigami hadn't been able to. Not only that, she had been able to kill it quickly before it was even able to fight back. To top it off it, would appear that she was an arrancar with her humanoid form. She had been hiding right under his nose. He stared at the frozen screen she was firing an arrow towards the spy. The hollow he had been looking for had finally appeared. He had found her, and now she had nowhere to hide. He _would_ have her as his own.


	35. Extra Chapter Valentine's Day

I do not own Bleach

Hey all! It's a day late, but we wanted to step away from the story and give a cute little Valentine's Day Chapter, so we hope you enjoy! Also this week while be crazy for us and we may not be able to post every other day for the next week.

Extra Chapter: Valentine's Day

Kisuke grinned as he added the final touch to the decorations around the shop. Hinata's lunch sat on the counter wrapped in a pink ribbon and containing a secret Valentine's Day surprise. Just as he was climbing down from the stepstool, Jinta walked into the main room rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The little red headed boy's eyes widened when he saw the explosion of red, pink, and purple strewn across the shop.

Before Jinta could say anything, the shop door opened with a loud bang as Hinata trilled, "Good morning!"

"No!" Jinta hollered, fleeing the room. "Stay away from me!"

Hinata pouted, then bounced over to Kisuke who smiled and welcomed her with his usual morning hug. "Good morning, my dear!"

"Good morning, Uncle Kisuke!" Hinata looked around the shop with a bright smile. "The shop looks really pretty today!"

Kisuke laughed. "That's because it's Valentine's Day, Hinata! Happy Valentine's Day!"

Hinata's head tilted to the side in confusion. "What's Valentine's Day?"

Kisuke waved his fan, grinning from ear to ear as he spun around the shop. "Valentine's Day is a day to express love. You give gifts to people you like such as chocolate, flowers, or teddy bears!"

Hinata's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? There's a day where people give away chocolate?!"

Kisuke chuckled. Of course the only word Hinata heard about his explanation was 'chocolate.' He ushered her towards the counter where her lunch sat. "You're going to be late if you don't head to school."

Hinata grabbed her lunch and then turned to kiss Kisuke's cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Kisuke! I'll see you tonight!"

. . .

Orihime bounced on the balls of her feet while she waited for the others to enter the classroom. She had arrived at school super early with little boxes of her special homemade chocolates. Tatsuki had been the first to come, tucking the chocolates away in her bag with a mumbled thanks. Then had come Chad, Uryu, Keigo, Mizuiro, Rukia, Hinata, and at last Ichigo.

When Hinata had walked in, Orihime attacked her with a massive bear hug. Eyes bright with excitement, Hinata had immediately opened the box of chocolates and popped one into her mouth. Orihime waited breathlessly as Hinata chewed slowly, her face thoughtful.

"Delicious!" Hinata exclaimed with a bright smile, quickly popping the second chocolate into her mouth. "You're such a good cook, Orihime!"

Orihime blushed. "Thanks, Hinata. I'm glad you like them."

Hinata giggled. "I think this is my favorite holiday! I love chocolate!"

"You're going to get a stomach ache if you eat too much," a familiar voice scolded, making Orihime jump. She turned and found Ichigo scowling at Hinata.

"There's no such thing as too much chocolate, silly," Hinata told Ichigo with a bright smile. "Uncle Kisuke gives me chocolate all the time!"

"Umm . . . Happy Valentine's Day, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said shyly.

"Huh? Oh," Ichigo said, glancing down at Orihime. "Happy Valentine's Day to you too, I guess."

"I . . . I brought you chocolates!" Orihime bowed, her face red as she held out the little box she had prepared especially for Ichigo.

Ichigo shook it gently and then turned to offer it to Hinata. "You want these?" he asked.

Orihime felt like crying, and was startled when Hinata hugged Orihime and said, "No, Ichigo, I don't want those. Orihime gave them to you! Don't make her sad by giving them away!"

Orihime turned and hugged Hinata tightly. "It's okay. You can have them if he doesn't want them."

"No," Ichigo said, shaking the box again. "Thank you for the chocolates, Orihime. That was rude of me. I'm sorry."

Orihime turned around in surprise. "Oh! No, that's okay!"

Hinata smiled as she punched Ichigo's shoulder. "You better be nice today, Ichigo."

Ichigo flinched and rubbed his arm. Together, he and Orihime watched as Hinata skipped happily to her seat.

. . .

Uryu leaned against the school gate, waiting for Hinata once school got out. All day he had watched boys approach her asking for chocolates or handing her letters. At lunch, Hinata had asked him why the boys kept acting weird, but Ichigo had dragged her away before Uryu could say anything. Progressively, Uryu had become more and more irritated throughout the day. Why were all the boys coming forward and confessing to her now.

"Bye, Ichigo!" Hinata called, skipping happily through the school yard.

She skidded to a halt next to Uryu. She seemed to be glowing with happiness. Uryu pushed up his glasses and smiled as they left the school yard together, reaching to take her hand. Over the past several months since they'd begun practicing, Hinata had grown comfortable around him. Oftentimes she would hold his hand as they walked to their usual practice ground. Uryu knew that Hinata held hands with others too, but he always felt warm whenever he was holding her hand.

"Did you have a good Valentine's Day, Uryu?" Hinata asked, skipping over a crack in the side walk.

Uryu took a moment to answer. "It was alright. How was your Valentine's Day?"

"It was lots of fun!" She paused for a moment, a frown creasing her brow. "Uryu, the boys were acting weird today. Ichigo said girls give chocolates to people on Valentine's Day, but a bunch of boys kept trying to give me things."

Uryu almost choked. Had Hinata never celebrated Valentine's Day before? "Your cousin was right. Girls give out chocolates on Valentine's Day, and the boys give the girls gifts on White Day next month."

Hinata was still frowning. "I didn't have any chocolates to give away today."

Uryu smiled at her. "That's alright. You didn't know. Besides, no one said it was wrong for boys to give things out today too." Uryu blushed; he had a gift for Hinata in his school bag, but hadn't wanted to give it to her in front of everyone else.

Hinata sighed. "I wish Uncle Kisuke had told me I was supposed to give out chocolates." She suddenly smiled. "Uryu, did anybody give you chocolates today?"

"Huh? Oh, Orihime gave me some chocolates. I think she gave everyone in the class chocolates though."

"No one else gave you chocolates?"

Uryu shook his head and smiled at her. "No, but that's okay. I don't really like chocolate that much anyways."

Hinata's eyes grew wide. "You don't like chocolate?!"

Uryu laughed. "No, I like it! Everyone likes chocolate. I just don't eat very much chocolate."

"Oh," Hinata said, appeased. "I love chocolate!"

"You love everything," Uryu teased, grinning. His bad mood was gone now that he was able to talk to her alone. He wasn't sure how the rumor had started, but everyone at school seemed to think that they were a couple, and he had chosen to let everyone think that rather than correct them. The only ones who were oblivious to the rumors were Ichigo and Hinata herself. Considering the way Ichigo had been acting towards their other classmates today, Uryu was glad that Ichigo didn't even seem to know who he was.

"What are we practicing today?" Hinata asked, breaking though Uryu's train of thought. They had made it to the park where they trained their quincy powers.

"Umm . . ." Uryu said, fidgeting as he put down his bag. "Actually . . . I wanted to give you something first."

Hinata waited as he rummaged in his school bag and pulled out a small teddy bear that he had sewn himself. It had a yellow ribbon tied around its neck in a bow and little pink hearts on its paws. Uryu was very proud of his handy work and was beaming when he turned to hand it to her.

Hinata squealed with delight when she saw the little stuffed bear in his hands. "It's so cute!"

Uryu grinned as she spun in a circle hugging the bear to her chest. A tingling sensation crawled across his skin as she threw her arms around him in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you so much, Uryu! I love it!"

He blushed and pushed up his glasses. "You're welcome."

She danced around the park for a few minutes, giggling as she admired her gift. Uryu sat and watched her, their training forgotten. Why had he been so irritated earlier? Hinata wasn't interested in any of the boys at school. He had nothing to worry about.

. . .

Hinata rushed through the garganta with a box of chocolates in her hands and Uryu's teddy bear. She had left her gigai at Uncle Kisuke's shop so that she could play with Ulqui today. He was waiting for her outside their cave as she burst through the garganta into Hueco Mundo. His face lit up when he saw her, catching her easily as she flew into his arms.

"Ulqui! Guess what happened at school today!"

Ulquiorra smiled down at her. "Did you have a good day today?"

"That's not a guess, silly!"

"You got an A on your test?" It had taken him a while to understand how grades worked, but Hinata always seemed proud of her grades at school. It sounded as if she was the smartest in her class, which didn't surprise Ulquiorra at all.

"No, silly," Hinata giggled. "Today was Valentine's Day!"

"What's that?" Ulquiorra asked with a frown.

"It's a day for girls to give out chocolates to the people they like! My friends gave me chocolates, and so did Uncle Kisuke. Oh, and then Uryu gave me a teddy bear! Look!" She held her teddy bear out to him, grinning like a fool.

Ulquiorra wrinkled his nose; the bear smelled like humans. Quickly, he smiled and patted her head. "That was very nice of him."

Hinata beamed, bouncing in place. "I brought you chocolates, Ulqui!"

Curious, Ulquiorra put one in his mouth. It took all of his effort not to spit it back out. Did Hinata really like this human food?

"Do you like it?"

Ulquiorra struggled to swallow and then smiled at her. "It tastes . . . great, Hinata. You should eat the rest though."

She happily popped one of the human sweets into her mouth and spun in circles with the bear clutched in her hands. After a few minutes, she stopped and flashed a grin at Ulquiorra. "Catch me!"

Ulquiorra blinked in surprise and in that time Hinata was already three dunes away, her laughter drifting through the air. It had been a long time since they'd played chase. Grinning, Ulquiorra took off after her. He had been getting faster as he'd practiced fighting with Starrk and Lilynette while she was at school, and he wanted to see if he could keep up with her today.

Two hours later, Ulquiorra collapsed beside the sandcastle they had built at Christmas . It was no use; Hinata was as fast as ever, always staying close enough to taunt him, but staying just out of his reach. Ulquiorra had a feeling that Hinata held back whenever they played chase. After resting a moment, he got up and began to wander in the direction he'd last sensed Hinata's spirit pressure. It seemed that she was playing on her own while she waited for him. He smiled and sped up, hoping to surprise her.

. . .

Starrk froze causing Lilynette to walk into his back. The girl cursed, kicking the back of his legs, but he ignored her as he scanned the horizon. Maybe he had imagined it, but he'd felt a small amount of spirit pressure nearby. Turning, he saw it! There was a flash of orange in the distant dunes with the same spirit pressure he had sensed earlier.

"Come, Lilynette!"

"Huh? Why?"

"I think I found her."

Lilynette perked up. "Then what are you waiting for, stupid? Let's catch her!"

Together they took off through the dunes at full speed. Every now and then Starrk had caught tiny bursts of her spirit energy and took off in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of this phantom arrancar. Maybe today they would catch her.

They crested a dune and Starrk stopped to scan for a sign of her, but he had lost her. Lilynette slid past him, unable to stop in time and went tumbling down the hill yelling curses up at him. There was a loud crash and Lilynette yelled out, "That hurt! What is this stupid castle doing here?!"

Intrigued, Starrk rushed down the hill and found his companion sprawled on the sand at the foot of a massive castle made out of sand. Hesitantly, he reached out and pushed against the sandy wall. To his surprise, the "sand" castle was as solid as stone. Amazed, he circled around it checking for weak points. The entire castle was made out of pure sand and spirit energy – her spirit energy!

"Lilynette! She made this castle!"

"What?" Lilynette came around the corner and stopped in front of the castle's sandy doors. She grabbed the handle and tugged on it, using her feet to pull on the door, but it didn't budge. Starrk moved to help her, but the door wouldn't open for him either. Starrk stood back and studied the castle with amusement.

Without warning, Starrk began to laugh. "Oh, she's clever. For all we know, she's hiding in there."

Lilynette looked up at him in confusion. "How can anyone possible open that door?"

"Exactly," Starrk laughed. "No one can." He walked away chuckling with Lilynette trailing behind him. After a few minutes of wandering, he felt a small burst of spirit pressure once again. Excited, he rushed off. Before long, they came to a flat expanse of sand where a familiar figure stood. Starrk slowed and looked over the valley with an amused expression on his face.

"Whoa," Lilynette whispered, eyes wide as she stared down at the massive drawing in the sand. "What's Valentine's Day?"

Starrk shook his head. Down below was a massive heart etched deep into the sand saying, "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY HUECO MUNDO!" with a bunch of smaller hearts surrounding the large heart. "I don't know, but she did this. Look, that's Ulquiorra."

They slid down the dune and came up to Ulquiorra who turned and scowled at them. "Can't catch her either?" Lilynette asked, kicking at the edge of the heart.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ulquiorra said coldly.

"Valentine's Day . . ." Starrk said slowly, as if reading it for the first time, watching Ulquiorra's face.

"Supposedly it's a day about love –" Ulquiorra began, but snapped his mouth shut instantly and glared at Starrk. "I don't know what it is."

Starrk just laughed and proceeded to follow the solemn arrancar as he walked away from the girl's drawing. He didn't mind that she had eluded them once again. He now had a better idea of her connection with Ulquiorra, and that made him extremely happy.


	36. Chapter 33 Welcome

I do not own Bleach

Chapter 33 Welcome

Hinata felt the garganta open again, though it wasn't a hollow that came through this time. It was one of the evil soul reapers. Hinata stumbled as she felt all of her spiritual pressure yanked from her, causing her quincy bow to collapse. She could feel Nikko frantically reeling in all of her spiritual pressure. Hinata hit a knee as her breathing became shallow. Chad yelled and ran over to her. She could feel her vision blurring. She looked up to see the man with pretty dark skin standing in the sky looking over the park with a frown on his face as if he was looking for something or someone.

Chad must have seen him too because he fell quiet and for that one moment all was quiet. Hinata saw the man frown before he shunpoed away as Hinata's collapsed to the groud.

. . .

Tosen walked into the throne room dragging Grimmjow behind him. He couldn't help but allow his disgust for the foul creature he was touching show on his face. The room was full of all the Espada along with Gin who was standing behind Aizen's throne.

Aizen had a smirk on his face that began to turn into a frown when he saw that Tosen only had Grimmjow with him. "Where is she?"

Tosen gave a bow. "I went to the park you told me of. I found the boy, but the girl was not there when I arrived."

Aizen's fist hit the armrest before he began to laugh. "Well she wouldn't be worth having if she had been so easy to catch, now would she?" Aizen shifted and pressed several buttons, causing a screen to pull down. "Now, my Espada, I'm excited to tell you that I have found your sister that up until now has been elusive." The screen moved to show the orange haired girl staring down the camera. Aizen looked around the group and saw curiosity on all their faces except Grimmjow who was swearing up a storm. With a nod towards Tosen, Grimmjow's arm went flying before being burned with Kido. "You are allowed to live because you found her, Grimmjow. Now leave before I change my mind."

. . .

Ulquiorra left the meeting and went straight to his room. He allowed himself to open a small garganta; he could feel her spiritual pressure, but it was so faint he almost didn't notice it. He gave a growl before quickly closing the garganta. He was going to kill Grimmjow. This was entirely his fault! Until Aizen said so the cursed cat would live. Ulquiorra flexed his fist which had gone numb from clenching it tightly at his side to keep from attacking the moment Hinata's face flashed on Aizen's screen. A flash of green caught his eye as he slumped into a chair.

Twisting his wrist so that it caught the light, he admired Hinata's bracelet. Breathing deeply, he slowly relaxed. They hadn't found her; somehow, Hinata had managed to avoid Tosen. Allowing himself a small smile, Ulquiorra rose and left Los Noches for patrol duty. He would check on Nel; seeing her would relieve some of the pain growing around his hollow hole.

. . .

Gin's eyes had widened when the girl had come onto the screen before he had quickly put his face back into his usual grin. How could she be the arrancar Aizen was looking for? He had felt her spiritual pressure when she had been in the soul society and it had clearly been that of a Shinigami! Gin studied the frozen image of the girl's face, her words echoing in his head. How could she be a hollow? He'd spent more than enough time around the creatures and knew that such a sweet and innocent being like her it was impossible that she was a hollow.

Gin frowned as he studied the picture again. Was she holding a quincy bow?

. . .

Kisuke sat beside Ururu as Tessai healed her. She was in a bad condition. He looked up when the sound of thundering footsteps came running up to the shop followed by the sound of his door being kicked off its hinges. He was in the process of standing when Chad appeared in the doorway holding an unconscious Hinata in his arms.

Kisuke's eyes went wide as he jumped back. "Place her here, Chad. What happened?" As soon as she was on the ground, he was by her side checking her vitals.

"Traitor Shinigami."

Kisuke stopped to look at him before looking back down at her. "Which one?" From what he could tell, she had no spiritual pressure.

"Black."

Kisuke froze and looked down at her. Tosen! He shouldn't have gone after Hinata unless. . . Kisuke cursed. "Tessai, put up barriers. Aizen knows about Hinata."

Tessai's eyes went wide as he began to chant several complex Kidos. Several minutes later, an exhausted Tessai leaned against the wall. Thankfully, Ururu had been healed enough that she was not in any danger but had fallen asleep.

While Tessai had been casting Kido, Kisuke had been running around the shop grabbing everything he could think of that could be used to block Aizen from finding her. When he finally came back to the room, Tessai had fallen asleep and Jinta had curled up alongside Ururu and was asleep with her. Chad was sitting by Hinata's side holding her hand. Kisuke slowly sank to the ground beside him.

"What?"

"Tosen, the captain you saw, is blind. My guess is that he came to take Hinata and in order to hide herself from him she cut off all of her spiritual pressure. Her body wasn't able to handle the change and went into hibernation." He was quiet for a moment before reaching out his hand and touching Hinata. He allowed a smile to cross his face. "Can you feel that?"

Chad gave a small nod.

"Her spiritual pressure is coming back, just slowly so as to not hurt her body. Go sleep, Chad. She will be fine."

. . .

Hinata blinked in confusion as she looked around her inner world. The sun was so bright today that she couldn't even see any of the trees. She reached out her hand and it collide with a tree, so she knew they were there but she couldn't see them.

She heard giggling followed by someone grabbing her hand. The hand was smaller than her own. It was the hand of a child. "Mama's this way!" came a singsong voice. Hinata allowed the little hand to guide her through the trees. When the hand finally let go it gave another giggle before saying, "Bye bye."

Hinata felt a fear come over her. "Wait, don't leave me!" She reached out to try and grab the child but found that she was already gone.

All of a sudden she found herself being hugged from behind. "Hinata!"

"Nikko!" The light flared, hurting Hinata's eyes.

Nikko gave an embarrassed giggle. "Sorry about that, but you probably shouldn't say my name for a while."

"Why?"

"In order to protect you from the bad man I had to pull in all your spiritual pressure into your inner world which made it very bright. Sorry, but by morning it will be stabilized again."

Hinata gave a nod. "Oh! Who was that just now?"

"Oh, you mean. . ." Hinata didn't hear the rest of what she said because she found that someone had placed their hands over her ears.

She turned to where she thought the owner was. "Mama?" The hands gently shook her head in a yes. Hinata smiled as she tried to reach out towards her mom, but she found that her mind was becoming blurry. She found herself free falling through space.

. . .

Hinata awoke in Kisuke's shop. She could hear Ururu and Jinta playing in the other room and smiled. She turned to see Chad was asleep leaning against the wall. As she stood on her feet, she found that they were a little shaky but not too bad. She looked at her watch; she had missed the start of school. She reached out to find that Tatsuki and Orihime, along with most of the Shinigami, were at school. Uryu was with his dad, and Rukia was running around town. Ichigo was walking towards where Daffodil, jumpsuit, and several other people who felt like them were sending off a lot of spiritual pressure.

Hinata climbed out the window and headed off towards them.

Kisuke entered the room a moment later and cursed. Grabbing his coat, he jumped out the window after her. He needed to tell her about how Aizen was after her, and she needed to be more careful!  
. . .

Hinata crept quietly behind Ichigo; she could sense Daffodil and the others waiting for Ichigo. Behind her, she could also sense Uncle Kisuke drawing closer. She knew he wasn't happy that she had left, but she had been curious about what Ichigo was doing. After a while, they approached what appeared to be an old, run down warehouse. Hinata smiled as Ichigo studied it from the outside for a moment before marching in. Hinata glanced behind her, blew a kiss at Uncle Kisuke, and then dashed in after Ichigo.

. . .

"Hinata!" Kisuke called, skidding to a halt outside the warehouse. "Dammit, her spirit energy is still depleted!"

Kisuke paced back and forth in front of the door for a moment. If they didn't want him to come in, they would definitely have Hachi make it impossible for him to enter. Halfheartedly he tried the door, but it was no use. Hinata was beyond his reach. With a sigh, he turned away; she would be safe enough with the Vizards.

Instead of going back to the shop, he made his way towards the Kurosaki residence. Isshin had already freaked out when Kisuke had called to let him know Hinata was with him last night. He might as well let her father know now where she was now rather than later. He dreaded the coming conversation, but it was better to just get it over with.

. . .

"Welcome!" Shinji said as Ichigo entered the warehouse. "I see you managed to make it as well, Hinata."

Ichigo spun on his heel and found Hinata standing close behind him, smiling at Shinji.


	37. Chapter 34 Inner Beings

I do not own Bleach

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for being patient! Our lives have been really crazy with school. We feel super bad about the delayed posting, but we can't make any promises about further postings. We'll post again as soon as we can. You guys are awesome! Thanks for reading.

Chapter 34 Inner Beings

Ichigo was confused. Why had Hinata followed him? And why was she friendly with Shinji? He stared at her, wondering how to ask, but she just smiled at him with her hands tucked behind her back as if this were all an exciting game to her. He turned again to face Shinji.

"Let her out."

"Sorry, can't," Shinji said with a shrug. "She came here of her own free will. In fact, we didn't even ask her to come." He sent a smile and a wave towards Hinata who waved back.

Ichigo gave a growl and moved so that he was blocking Hinata from Shinji's line of sight.

Shinji rolled his eyes before continuing, "You, on the other hand, suck at spirit energy manipulation. I'm impressed you even found us. So, Ichigo, now that you've finally made it here, are you ready to join our crew?"

Ichigo glanced at Hinata again. "Hell no!" Ichigo gave a yelp as something hit the back of his head. He turned to see Hinata shaking her head at him. "Sorry Hinata." Rubbing his head he turned back to Shinji, "Don't you even think of dragging her into this!"

Shinji was surprised at first, then chuckled. "It's not your choice to make. She's already here. Hinata?"

Hinata skipped past Ichigo with a smile. "I want to train too! Besides, Daffodil's funny."

"That's not . . . hold on a minute!" Ichigo growled.

Hinata turned and grabbed Ichigo's hands. "It's okay, Ichigo. They can't hurt me. I'll be fine!"

Ichigo frowned and then looked back up at Shinji and the others surprised to note that Shinji was holding a small girl with pigtails back who was yelling at him to let her go! "I won't join up with you . . . but I'm sure you guys can teach me how to quiet down the hollow inside me."

"It doesn't work like that, Ichigo," Hinata whispered.

"Well listen to you talking all big. And who do you think is going to teach you?" Shinji laughed.

"I'll just rip it out of you," Ichigo said with a smile, "by force!"

"No!" Hinata cried as Ichigo pulled his hands free and reached for his soul reaper badge. Hinata stumbled backwards as his body dropped to the ground and he drew his Zanpakuto. "Ichigo, stop! Why don't you listen to Daffodil?!"

Ichigo wasn't listening. He was already attacking Shinji, who had drawn his blade as well.

. . .

Hinata slumped against the wall, bored. After Ichigo had attacked Daffodil, Jumpsuit had jumped in and pulled on a mask, forcing Ichigo's hollow to come out. Hinata had been upset by this; Ichigo had come to them because he was scared! Daffodil had told her it was for Ichigo's own good, but she still hadn't liked it.

"If you had just let me talk to him –" she had begun to argue, but Daffodil had just shaken his head.

"He wasn't listening to any of us, Hinata. That was the only way we could get him to understand."

Now she watched Ichigo exercise in the corner. She had also asked why they weren't making her do the same thing, but they had all just laughed at her. "Urahara told us that if we tried to make you use that we'd be waiting for weeks!" Daffodil had told her. Ichigo was taking his training seriously, but it was boring to watch.

Even so, Ichigo was getting frustrated.

Hinata sighed and hopped up from her spot on the ground. She walked over to the opposite corner from Ichigo and began gathering rocks. She found that with just a tiny bit of spiritual pressure she could get them to glue to each other. With a smile she set to work on building a replica of her sand castle in Hueco Mundo. She ignored the crashing of Ichigo throwing the "Super Hiyori Walker" towards Jumpsuit. With all the yelling she chose to ignore them until Daffodil swore. Hinata flicked one of her rocks towards him. Daffodil gave a yelp of surprise as the rock knocked him over. He looked over at Hinata shocked; the rest were also looking at her. "Don't swear Daffodil!"

Daffodil stared at her while Ichigo snickered. "What?"

"Don't swear. It's not nice." Hinata continued to build her castle while Daffodil shook his head and turned his attention back to Ichigo. She was going to ignore their conversation completely, but an unfamiliar word caught her attention.

"What's a hougyoku?" she asked, looking up once more.

"It's what Aizen took from Rukia," Ichigo said at the same time Daffodil said, "Your Uncle Kisuke would rather we not tell you."

Hinata frowned and looked to Ichigo.

"I don't know what it does exactly," Ichigo told her with a shrug. "I just know that Aizen wanted it and now that he has it, I need to get rid of it."

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "We need to take it away from the scary man?"

"That's right," Shinji said, but again Ichigo talked over him.

"You're not going to get it," Ichigo said sternly. "I don't want you anywhere near Aizen."

That sounded familiar. Ulquiorra's words echoed in her head. " _You can't come home . . . it's not safe here . . ."_ Hinata shook her head angrily, orange hair fanning around her face. "No! I want to help!"

"We're wasting time," Daffodil said, jumping down to face Ichigo. "Besides, the details can wait for 'later.'"

Hinata abandoned her rock pile and rushed to Ichigo just as Daffodil was explaining how quickly Ichigo trained. "Time to go," Daffodil said, knocking Ichigo out with just a touch to the forehead. Love caught Ichigo as he slumped over unconscious while Daffodil turned to Hinata and said, "Same for you, sweetheart. It's finally your turn."

"Wait!" Hinata cried, but it was too late. She felt a burst of spirit energy explode from Daffodil's finger and the world went black.

. . .

Hinata woke up rubbing her head and found herself seated next to Hacchi. There was a weird feeling about the underground training area (much like under Uncle Kisuke's shop), and she realized that barriers had been put up around the warehouse. They were much stronger than Uncle Tessai's barriers. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around at the others and found Ichigo encased in a special barrier. He had begun to hollowfy, and Hinata could sense an enormous amount of spirit pressure leaking from Ichigo. The one with glasses, Lisa, was inside the barrier with Ichigo fending him off.

Hacchi looked over at her he seemed to be surprised to see her awake. "You're up early. Ichigo is taking longer than we thought, sorry we had to knock you out."

Hinata have a tired nod as she continues to rub her eyes. With that Hacchi went back to focusing on the fight that was going on in the barrier.

Hinata stood up and stretched, bored once again. Ichigo would be in there for a while before she had her turn too. She crouched to begin another sand castle because she hadn't been able to finish her other one when she noticed Jumpsuit sitting a short distance away also looking bored. With a smile, Hinata walked over and sat next to her.

"What do you want?" Jumpsuit asked, grumpy.

"I want to be friends," Hinata said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side, studying Jumpsuit. "You're really old, aren't you?"

Jumpsuit turned to her in surprise while Daffodil laughed. "Don't start on her, kid. The shrimp is as much a kid as you are!"

"What did you say, baldy?" Jumpsuit screeched, jumping to her feet as if ready to fight Daffodil.

Hinata shook her head. "No, she's as old as you are, Daffodil. Well . . . almost as old as you are." She frowned, thinking. "Uncle Kisuke too. You're all old."

Jumpsuit stared down at Hinata as she began a new sandcastle. "You might be alright, kid. You're the first person to recognize that I'm not a kid."

Daffodil rolled his eyes when Hinata smiled up at Jumpsuit.

"Switch!" Hacchi called, drawing everyone's attention back to Ichigo. The one called Kensei went to switch places with Lisa.

Lisa turned back to watch Ichigo once she joined the rest of them. "Son of a . . . he's strong!" she gasped.

Hinata smiled. "Of course my brother is strong."

They continued to switch out every ten minutes while Hinata focused on building a miniature version of her sandcastle in Hueco Mundo. Just as she was forming the fourth wall, Hinata paused and sighed. She wanted to go home and see Ulqui. She missed playing chase with him and talking to him about the things she learned. She took a break from her sandcastle and tugged gently on the link connecting her to Ulquiorra. He was safe, but the connection was weak. It made her sad.

"What the . . ." someone gasped as Ichigo's barrier began to fill with light. Hinata smiled. Ichigo was done, and he had won.

. . .

Hacchi tended to the wounds of his companions while Hinata finished her sandcastle. She was just smoothing the sides when Shinji came and kicked the side of her project. Hinata looked up in surprise when Shinji yelled out in pain, hopping on one foot. Hinata laughed as he cursed and kicked again at Hinata's castle.

"You can't break it, silly," Hinata giggled.

"Who cares," Shinji said, scowling at the castle. "I came to tell you that it's your turn."

Hinata jumped up to her feet excitedly. Shinji spun his Zanpakuto in order to tap the hilt against her forehead. Hinata ducked and threw herself from her body before Shinji could connect, appearing before him in Shinigami robes. Ichigo turned to watch them curiously and then cried out in surprise.

"What are you doing?!" Ichigo hollered, attempting to run over to Hinata but the others held him back.

"She needs to be trained too," Shinji called, not taking his eyes off of Hinata. Hinata spun in circles, not really paying attention to what was going on.

"Why?" Ichigo demanded, straining against the others, but it was no use. "Hinata is . . ." He trailed off, his face turning red.

"Kisuke told us that she was like you," Shinji said, finally glancing back at Ichigo. "Therefore, she is to be treated the same way."

"Yeah, Strawberry," Hiyori said, rolling her eyes. "She'll be fine if she's anything like you."

"That's just it," Ichigo argued. "She's not like me. I'm not sure what she is, but . . . she's different."

"Not according to Kisuke," Shinji said, approaching Hinata. "Hey kid! Stand still for a moment!"

Hinata stopped her spinning just as Shinji once more knocked her unconscious. He caught her as she slumped to the ground. The others gathered around as Shinji took her to the barrier they had abandoned when Ichigo had finished his hollowfication. He ignored Ichigo's nervous mumbles as he braced himself for another round.

. . .

Hinata blinked and found herself lying in the grass outside the cottage. Nikko came running out of the cottage, red dress swirling around her bare feet, to greet her. Hinata rose to her feet in time for Nikko to crash into her giving her tight hug. Hinata's eyes were drawn to the cottage by Masaki's laugh. She was leaning against the doorway with a towel draped over her arm.

"What are you doing here?" Nikko asked with a bright smile.

Hinata looked around with a frown, trying to remember why she had come to her inner world.

"I'm supposed to fight my inner hollow like Ichigo did, but . . ." Hinata frowned. "I am a hollow though, right? I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Masaki and Nikko exchanged worried looks. "Hinata . . ." Masaki said slowly, but was interrupted as an orange blur rushed past her and wrapped around Hinata's knees almost knocking her over.

Hinata looked down in surprise to find a smaller version of herself hugging her knees and looking up at her with a bright smile. "Big sister!" the little orange haired girl crowed.

"Hinata!" Masaki cried while rushing forward with arms out stretched.

Both girls looked to the older woman while Nikko giggled. "Yes, mama?" they said in unison.

Masaki froze in surprise and Hinata looked down at the little girl once again. She didn't look to be more than six years old.

"You're pretty," the little girl said, reaching up as if she wanted Hinata to pick her up.

Hinata bent to do so, but Masaki rushed forward once more and pulled the girl into her arms instead. Hinata stared at her mother, and then looked to Nikko in confusion. The little girl was struggling in Masaki's arms as she reached out towards Hinata. "Who?"

"Um . . ." Masaki said, trying to keep the girl in her arms, she gave a sigh. "You're right about not meeting an inner hollow here."

"Mama," the little girl said, squirming. "Let me go!"

Nikko giggled again. "Hinata, meet Hinata. She's you're inner human."

Hinata stared at the little girl. "Inner human?"

Masaki sighed as the little girl finally managed to get out of her arms and fell to the ground. She ran over to Hinata and grabbed her hand. "You met her last time you came here, but you were only here for a little bit. It wasn't time for you to meet her. The other times you've come to visit, she stayed in the cottage."

"How?" Hinata whispered looking down at the girl.

"How long? She was born the same time as you were." Masaki said.

"Why did you keep her a secret from me?" Hinata asked.

"I didn't want to," Nikko said stubbornly, crossing her arms across her chest. "Masaki said you weren't ready to know about her yet."

Hinata looked to her mother again.

Masaki sighed. "She is the way you would have been if I hadn't died that night. When I died, you were taken to Hueco Mundo as a hollow. Nikko has trained you as a Shinigami, and after you met Uryu I helped train you as a Quincy. The only thing missing was your human side." She made a gesture towards the little girl again.

Hinata looked down at the girl and then squatted to look her in the eye. "How old are you?" she asked softly.

"Six!" the little girl said proudly. "I can read, and I know my numbers, and mama is teaching me about lots of other things too!"

Hinata smiled at her. "What's your name?"

"Hinata Kurosaki!"

Hinata smiled up at her mom. "So . . . if I didn't have this," she said, tapping the little bones holding her bangs back, "this is what I would be like?"

"Yes."

"I think you're adorable," Nikko said, crouching beside the little Hinata as well.

"This is why you don't act like a normal hollow," Masaki said. "You're just like your brother, equally balanced between Shinigami, Quincy, hollow, and human. Well . . . almost equally balanced."

"What do you mean?" Hinata stood up holding the little Hinata in her arms.

Masaki looked sad now. "You're not exactly stable. We've been helping you control your spirit pressure, and balance it but because of the way you were born, your body has become unstable."

Hinata frowned. "I feel fine though." The little Hinata had started to play with her hair.

"You do now, but in a year or so you'll start having trouble staying balanced."

"Oh," Hinata said, frowning. Little Hinata grabbed Hinata's hair and was brushing it across her face. Hinata blew the hair back and the girl giggled. "What will happen?"

Masaki was about to say something when Nikko spoke up, tilting her head to the side. "You should go back, Hinata. They're really confused right now."

"No, don't go!" Little Hinata cried throwing her arms around Hinata's neck and burying her face in Hinata's hair.

Hinata smiled at the smaller version of herself. "I'll come back, Hinata, don't worry. I should go now though."

Masaki stepped forward to grab the little girl and untangle her from Hinata's hair. She seemed nervous as she looked up at the sky, almost like she was looking into the real world. "Hinata, it would be best if you didn't tell anyone what happened here. I fear that if they know that you are an arrancar that they would kill you, and with you we would all die."

Hinata gave a sad nod before vanishing.

. . .

"What is going on?" Hiyori demanded.

Shinji hadn't moved since they'd entered the barrier. They all stood outside the barrier staring down at Hinata. When Shinji had knocked her out her hollow should have tried to come forward and take over, but nothing had happened!

"I told you she wasn't like me," Ichigo said, irritated. "I've never really known what Hinata was, but she's not human. That's a gigai Kisuke gave her!"

Hiyori spun around and yelped, "What?! Why didn't you tell us that before?"

"You didn't let me!"

"Hush!" Lisa chided them. "Something's happening."

Hinata had been standing in the middle of the barrier facing Shinji. Up until now she hadn't moved, but suddenly she raised a hand to her face and a mask formed. There was a flash of light, and, when it cleared, her face was covered by an almost completely white mask. There was a slit across where her eyes should be and little yellow sunbursts sprang from the far sides of the eye slit. This was the only color around the edges of her eye slit. It was secured to her head by a cross of bones that wrapped behind her head.

"That's . . . unusual," Love said, pulling his sunglasses off momentarily to get a better look at Hinata.

Shinji moved as if to attack, but was thrown back with another bright flash of light as Hinata swung her sword. The barrier cracked, and Shinji tumbled a few feet across the sand. The sudden burst of light faded to reveal that Hinata's mask had vanished. She smiled and waved at Ichigo who waved back at her.

Hacchi walked up to Ichigo's side, rubbing his chin while he contemplated the scene before them. "I have some questions. Do you think Hinata will answer?"

Ichigo looked up at the man and said, "Hinata will tell you whatever you want to know if she knows the answer."

"Good," Hacchi said with a bright smile as they watch Hinata help Shinji back to his feet.

. . .

"Hinata what are you?"

Hinata opened her eyes to see all the Vizard's standing in a group behind her. After she had broken the barrier she had sat back down and had tried to figure out how not to tell them what she was. "I'm Hinata!"

"Not who you are but what you are?" Jumpsuit snapped at her.

Hinata tilted her head. She was confused with what they were asking her.

Daffodil spoke next: "Ichigo told us that your body is a gigai and that you're not human."

Hinata's eyes went wide, "Oh!"

"So what are you!?" Jumpsuit said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'm a spirit."

They all looked her up and down. "Why are you still here?" Rojuro asked.

Hinata's eyes began to water. "My mommy died with me when I was really young and I never got to have a family. I just want a family." With that she pulled her knees up to her face and began to cry. She wasn't lying; she had died or been born the day her mother had died and now that she thought about it, what she truly wanted was a family that she could call her own.

The Vizards had formed a circle as they talked about what they had found out. "Stupid Kisuke! He should never have given her a gigai!" Hiyori yelled.

Kensei sent a look over his shoulder towards the crying spirit. "Something's different about her."

Love and Rose both nodded their heads in agreement. "I can see why Kisuke did it." Rose said.

There was some more idle mumbling as they tried to decide what to do with her. By the end, they decided to keep a close eye on her. Somehow this normal spirit had become a Shinigami and a vizard. There was only one name for someone who would do such a thing: Aizen. She was a vizard, and as such they would take care of her just the same as they took care of each other.

Ichigo had barely listened to their conversation. Instead he crouched down next to Hinata and rubbed her back comfortingly. Hinata twisted and clung to her brother, grateful for his strong arms wrapped around her.


	38. Chapter 35 Leaving the Nest

I do not own Bleach

We're so sorry! We feel so bad! This past month has been a struggle. School is crazy with finals approaching, but we finally got together and collaborated on this chapter! Hurray! We're so excited to be putting the next installment up. Unfortunately, we don't know when we'll be able to update next. We're trying our best and you readers inspire us to update when we can! Thank you so much for reading and being faithful!

Chapter 35 Leaving the Nest

Hinata was bored again! She sighed; it was currently Ichigo's turn to train. They were trying to help him keep his hollow mask on for longer. Currently he was only able to keep in up for around four seconds before it would crack and disappear. It was silly how they were trying to lengthen how long he kept it on by having him fight. That was the slowest way! Hinata gave another sigh and she propped her chin on her hand and leaned forward as once again Ichigo's mask dissolved.

Hinata had had a turn herself after she had stopped crying. They had decided to let Hinata go first, letting Ichigo get some rest before letting him try. Hinata had agreed because Ichigo had looked so tired.

First they had told her to put her mask back on, so she had. Then Jumpsuit had started to try and kick her. Hinata had kept dodging until Daffodil had joined in. Hinata had given a squeal of excitement: "Are we playing chase?!" With that she had run off. It had been so long since she had played! The longer the game dragged on, more and more of the vizards had joined in trying to catch her and the more fun she had. The vizards at intervals would put their masks on and try and catch her, but she would always slip just out of their reach. They all seemed to be getting frustrated because they couldn't catch her. In the end, they all collapsed from exhaustion before any of them could touch her.

As they lay on the ground, Hinata stood over them looking down. "Don't be so sad, even Ulqui has never caught me before!" All of their eyes went wide.

Hachi, who had just watched, spoke up, "She's had her mask on for longer than even Mashiro."

All the vizards looked over to see Mashiro curled up in a ball sleeping. As they watched, her mask slowly began to dissolve off her face.

Hinata tilted her head to the side not understanding what they were talking about. She felt a faint whisper of Nikko talking to her, " _Let your mask go_." Hinata did as she was asked. Once again there was a flash of light.

Hachi looked down at the timer he had been holding. "Fifteen hours and fifteen minutes!" he declared with slight awe in his voice.

Since then Hinata had been sitting on the side line. Heaving another sigh, she fell backwards until she was lying on her back in the sand. She didn't know how long she had been down here anymore. Her mind wandered to her friends as she lay on the sand. Suddenly she popped up. Chad! She had forgotten that she had promised to help Chad train! In the next moment she was gone, slipping out of the protective barrier that Hachi had placed around the warehouse.

. . .

Hinata was almost to Uncle Kisuke's when she realized that Chad was with the Pineapple man. She stopped and cocked her head. It seemed that Chad was training with the other man. She sent another look towards Uncle Kisuke's shop before turning and heading towards home.

Hinata found her dad sitting at the dining table staring out the window. He looked so sad and resigned that Hinata just ran over to him and threw her arms around his shoulders. He stiffened for a bit before he turned around and saw who it was. Tears began to well in his eyes. He moved so that he was facing her and hugged her tightly as he hugged her back, crying into her hair.

"What's wrong Daddy?"

He just kept shaking his head as he hugged her. "I thought you were gone."

Hinata gave a giggle. "No, silly, I was spending time with some friends."

"It has been days since I last saw you, and Kisuke said you were hurt, and then you ran away. I didn't know what to do!"

Hinata felt that he just needed her. So she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the couch where they sat down cuddling as they watched Sailor Moon.

. . .

Hinata stood atop a nearby building looking down at Uryu's hospital. She could feel Uryu training with his dad inside. Hinata smiled; this is where Uryu used to take her to train as well.

Uryu was trying so hard. She could feel the improvement he had made. Sitting down with her legs swinging over the building's edge, she dug in her bag and pulled out the notebook Uncle Kisuke had given her when she started school. Feeling Uryu's progress, she carefully wrote out a note of encouragement.

A moment later she slipped into the hospital, moving unseen through the halls until she came to the door leading to where Uryu was. Using a slight bit of spirit pressure, she stuck the folded note to the doorway and walked away with a smile.

. . .

Chad strolled out of Kisuke's shop massaging his knuckles. Renji had been pushing him hard over the past several days. He reached the edge of the yard before Kisuke came running after him, clogs clacking noisily as he called out. Chad turned to face the odd shopkeeper in surprise.

"Hinata," Kisuke panted.

"What about her?" Chad grunted, surprised.

"If you see her, tell me," Kisuke said with a bright smile.

Chad grunted in response and headed towards the park, leaving Kisuke merrily waving his fan from the shop's entrance. Renji didn't like giving Chad long breaks, but they had agreed to allow him to go to the park and wait for an hour for Hinata. He had started to grow concerned when she didn't show up the first day, but she had made a promise and he knew she always did her best to keep her promises.

When he reached the park, Chad was only a little surprised to see Hinata on the swings, swaying slowly back and forth as she watched for him. When he came into sight, she sprung from the swing with a bright smile and ran to throw her arms around him in one of her bone-crushing hugs.

"You came back," Chad said, hugging her back.

"I promised I'd train with you, silly," Hinata giggled. "I'm sorry I forgot."

"That's alright," Chad said, relieved to see that she was safe.

"How is Pineapple man?" she asked, bouncing away and prepping her quincy bow.

Chad smiled. "He's doing just fine. He's helping me get stronger."

Hinata let an arrow fly, closely followed by another. "You're getting faster," she giggled as Chad dove for the second arrow after successfully catching her first one. She increased the amount of spirit pressure to match Chad's before firing again. For the rest of the hour she gave encouragement and cheered as Chad continued to catch her arrows. He only got burnt twice when Hinata increased the pressure she put into her arrows, but the burns were very minor. When he said he had to return to Kisuke's she gave him a quick hug and promised to meet him the following day.

. . .

Kisuke sped out of the shop, realizing too late that Chad's hour was almost up. Hinata had shown up, finally, and he wanted to talk to her. He raced to the park, passing Chad in a blur, and stumbled to a halt just behind the orange haired girl. She turned around with a bright smile, arms already reaching for a hug.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Kisuke cried, pulling her close and then gripping her shoulders to look her up and down. She looked the same as always.

"I was with Ichigo and Daffodil," Hinata said, her eyes wide with surprise. "Is something wrong, Uncle Kisuke?" Her head tilted to the side, her expression innocent and full of concern.

"Yes," Kisuke said, tugging the brim of his hat down. "I wanted to warn you. Aizen . . . he's after you. He knows you're an arrancar."

Hinata frowned. "The scary man is after me?"

"You need to be careful, Hinata. His interest in you is very, very bad."

"I'm always careful, silly," Hinata said with another dazzling smile. The sun was setting just behind her, causing her hair to look like a blazing fire around her face. "The bad man won't catch me."

She hugged him and kissed his cheek before she skipped away. Kisuke watched her go, the knot in his gut tightening. "Be safe," he whispered after her.

. . .

Hinata stood looking over her sandcastle. She had snuck into Hueco Mundo so that she could pick up some of her things before heading back to the human world. A sad look crossed her eyes as she looked around at the endless plains of sand that surrounded her on all sides. After such a long time in the human world, which was full of colors, the dunes seemed to cry out for color. She reached out to see that Ulqui was still far away before entering the sandcastle.

She passed through the wall of sand with just a little bit of spiritual pressure. She took a deep breath once inside. Her castle had always smelled different from the rest of Hueco Mundo. Outside it smelt of death, blood, and hollow; inside her sandcastle smelt of flowers, love, and the world of the living. Skipping, she ran over to one of the nearby trunks and threw back the lid to see what was inside. It was full of colorful fabrics all of which she had worn when she was little. Shutting the trunk, she skipped to the next. Thus it continued for the next several minutes as she opened them all. In the center of the room she had started a small pile of all the things she planned to take back with her. As she closed the last trunk she felt a soft breeze touch her face. Startled, she turned to face the breeze. She was surprised to see another trunk that was hidden in the back.

Walking over, she lifted the lid back and was surprised to find a large worn blue coat. Hinata carefully pulled it out, looking it up and down. She couldn't remember the coat or where she had gotten it from. She felt a strong attachment to it though. Slowly she pulled it up to her face and took a deep breath. Her eyes widened as she took another deep breath. It smelt of home. When her dad had left the house, she had looked around and had found a box of her mother's stuff that he had hidden in his room. It had smelt of Lilacs, light, and oranges.

"Mom?"

Masaki, who had been watching the whole experience from inside Hinata's inner world, spoke up, "Yes, it is mine."

"But. . . How?"

Masaki gave a sad smile. "I was wearing it when I died. It came through with you to Hueco Mundo. It's what Ulquiorra found you wrapped in."

There was a long pause as Hinata continued to look at the coat before gingerly putting it on. Pulling up the lapel, she took another deep breath. "Thank you," she whispered.

She was still just holding the coat tight and breathing in deeply when she left the castle.

She was so engrossed in the coat that she didn't notice the watching eyes until they spoke. "Why hello."

Hinata stiffened as the smooth voice wormed its way past her happiness. Her eyes lifted to see the scary man everyone called Aizen. He stood before her dressed all in white like Ulquiorra had been when she last saw him. Before he could speak again, Hinata instinctively drew on Nikko's power and dropped her cloak about her, vanishing from sight and fleeing just far enough to open a garganta and escape once more to the world of the living.


	39. Chapter 36 She Shouldn't Fight

I do not own Bleach. Sorry for the late update, our lives got crazy and we have started a job so can't promise that our updates will be faster.

Chapter 36 She Shouldn't Fight

Aizen felt a grin split his face as he looked at the place the girl had vanished from. She must have some power that allows her to become invisible. Now that he had her in his sights, there was no way he would lose her again. His head turned to the side as he felt a garganta open. She had left Hueco Mundo it would seem. It would be her last time to leave Hueco Mundo without being his. He turned and walked back towards Los Noches. Not only had he found the hollow, but there was also the human girl with the interesting powers. He would just send Ulquiorra to get them both.

. . .

Ichigo gave a growl as once again his mask dissolved and Hiyori forced him back again. He tumbled across the desert landscape. He was trying to sit up as Hiyori started insulting him again. Without turning he mumbled a few choice words under his breath quiet enough so that Hinata wouldn't hear him.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

He raised his head to see Inoue standing on the staircase down into this forsaken training ground. With a smirk towards Hiyori, he stood up and walked over to her. He felt the impact of her sandal, but just kept walking.

When he reached Inoue he led her over to a safe spot to talk. They sat down and Inoue told him about all the different things that had been happening outside while he had been training. She looked worried, so he made sure to reassure her. Standing, he started heading back to where Hiyori was standing glaring at him for leaving partway through training. He rubbed the back of his head where Hiyori's sandal had hit him just a few minutes ago.

"Kurosaki-kun, where is Hinata?"

Ichigo looked back with a confused look on his face to see that Inoue was on her feet looking around. "What?"

She looked up from her search to meet his eyes. "Hinata. I haven't seen her in several days and I thought she was with you. I thought I felt her spiritual pressure here earlier?"

"She's here. . ." His voice trailed off as he reached out to find her spiritual pressure and look around the room. He had never been good at sensing spiritual pressure, but as he kept scanning, all he could see and sense was Inoue and the Vizards. A deep frown creased his face. "That's weird. . ." he said as he did another once over of the training grounds before his eyes settled on Inoue again. "Well, she was here; she must have gone outside for a bit." Hinata was always vanishing; she would come back when it was time.

Inoue nodded her head thoughtfully. "Okay, see you later Kurosaki-kun. Fight hard!" She raised her arm and flexed.

Ichigo gave a smile. "Yeah." He turned and went back to training.

. . .

At the next short break that Hiyori let Ichigo have, he looked up to see that Inoue was back. She was sitting with Hachi. As he watched, a glow of healing Kido vanished. Sending a glare towards Hiyori, he walked away. He felt a smirk cross his face as he dodged her sandal, only to growl and frown as a second sandal found its mark on the back of his head. He sent another glare back as he kept walking towards Inoue and Hachi.

"Hey, Inoue!"

She glanced up and immediately stood up and gave a small bow as she began babbling. It was hard to make out, but he thought it had something to do with her heart not being ready before her voice once again became the loud booming voice that he knew. "Good evening Kurosaki-kin!"

"Yeah, it's good to see you too. What are you doing here this time?"

"Oh, well, the girl in the red jumpsuit came out of the sky while I was talking to Rukia and grabbed me saying Hachi wanted to meet me, and then it was like Whoosh! and I was here!"

Ichigo sent a glare towards Hiyori; so that was where she had gone. He had been facing off Mashiro for a while and that had been a nightmare. He had been sure he was going to die. A thought occurred to him just then. "Inoue, did you see Hinata after you left?"

Inoue shook her head sadly. "No, I haven't, but I'm sure she'll show up soon."

"Yeah . . ." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as he frowned, thinking. Hinata had a habit of disappearing, and he wasn't usually concerned about it, but he had a weird feeling about her sudden absence this time.

"Anyways, I think it's time for me to be going now . . ."

Ichigo looked up, startled out of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Get home safe, Inoue."

"I will!" she said with a salute. Ichigo frowned as he watched her attempt to casually walk back the way she'd come; Inoue always acted as if she was fine, but he knew she was upset by something.

"Ichigo!" Hiyori hollered. "Get your butt back over here and get your mask back on!"

With a sigh, Ichigo obediently turned and prepared himself for the next onslaught as he pulled his mask over his face for the millionth time.

. . .

Hinata stepped out of the garganta, her heart racing. The sun was just beginning to set as she made her way to Uncle Kisuke's shop. Her encounter in Hueco Mundo had startled her. Why was the bad man waiting outside of her sand castle? Shaking her head, she smiled; at least she had gotten away quickly and made it safely back. As she walked, she searched for everyone's spirit pressures. Ichigo and Chad were still training; Orihime seemed to be upset, but she was safe with Rukia; Uryu was still at the hospital training.

"Uncle Kisuke!" she sang as she walked into the shop. There was a muffled shout before he poked his head out of a side room.

"Hinata!" He threw his arms open ready for a hug, but his smile was replaced with a confused expression as he looked her over. She was carrying a small chest in her hands and wearing a strange jacket. "Where . . . did you get that, Hinata?"

Hinata smiled brightly and held her treasured chest out proudly. "I went home to get some things!"

"What?!" he yelled.

"What's going on?" Jinta called from the other room.

"I went home," Hinata repeated, still smiling. "I needed more clothes, so I went to get them and I found this coat! I saw the scary man while I was there too, but I got away."

Uncle Kisuke stared at her in horror. "That . . . Hinata, you . . . no!"

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong, Uncle Kisuke? Nothing happened."

"Don't you ever," Uncle Kisuke said with a very angry tone, "ever do that again. Do you hear me?"

Hinata frowned but agreed with a nod of her head. Quietly she asked, "Can I leave some of my clothes here? I was going to take the rest home and show them to daddy."

It was a long moment before Uncle Kisuke nodded. As she was walking towards the back room, he called after her. "Hinata, stay away from Hueco Mundo from now on. Actually, just don't take any part in this fight."

Hinata spun around, the chest falling from her hands with a heavy thud. "What?! Uncle Kisuke, that's not fair! I want to fight!"

Uncle Kisuke shook his head. His hat created a shadow that masked his expression. "You will not be fighting. Ichigo and Isshin will both agree with me. You're going to sit this one out this time."

"No!" Hinata cried, a pleading look in her eyes, but Uncle Kisuke just turned and walked back to the back room.

. . .

Ichigo glowered at Shinji before walking into Kisuke's shop. The vizard refused to set foot in the shop, and the only reason he had come along was because Hiyori had thrown a fit over letting Ichigo leave training. After Inoue had left, Ichigo had insisted that he find Hinata, yelling until they reluctantly told him that they could sense her at Kisuke's. Ever since Inoue had visited, he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with Hinata's absence.

Ichigo looked around the dimly lit shop as he made his way towards the training area when a flash of orange blurred out of the corner of his eye. With a strangled shout, he caught Hinata before she could topple him. "You can't just jump out at people like that!" Ichigo cried, pulling back from her vice like hug.

"I . . . know . . ." Hinata sniffled, letting her arms drop.

"What's wrong," Ichigo growled, instantly suspicious.

"Uncle Kisuke told me I couldn't fight the scary man with you."

Ichigo froze, his anger melting away. Before he could comfort her, however, Kisuke came out of the back room shaking his head.

"Hinata went to Hueco Mundo and ran into Aizen, Ichigo."

Ichigo felt his jaw drop as he looked between the shop keeper and Hinata. "What? When? Where?"

"Aizen is after her. You know of her . . . unique abilities. She can't fight."

"I can too!" Hinata cried.

"Hold on! Hinata, what happened?"

Hinata glanced at Kisuke before taking a deep breath and saying, "I went home to get a few things, and now Uncle Kisuke is saying I'm not allowed to fight with you."

"She went to _Hueco Mundo_ ," Kisuke repeated, emphasizing the name of the world of Hollows.

Ichigo stared at both of them blankly for a moment. "Hueco Mundo . . ."

"You know she's a hollow, Ichigo. Hinata is from Hueco Mundo. She ran into Aizen. Aizen is seeking out powerful hollows. He wants Hinata. She's not fighting." Kisuke's jaw was clenched by the time he finished saying this.

Ichigo stared at Hinata who stared back at him with wide eyes. Deep down he had always known that she wasn't just any ordinary spirit. While training with the Vizards, the first time he had pulled on his mask, he had sensed that Hinata was more hollow than she was soul reaper, but he had denied it. Even when she had also pulled a mask over her face, he had denied what he had always known. Every time she had said she was going home, he had never questioned or asked where that was. Even so, hearing it said now didn't surprise him.

"Ichigo, I was fine! I got away before anything happened." Hinata was pleading.

"Kisuke," Ichigo said slowly. "How long have you known?"

Kisuke hesitated. "From the moment I first met her I knew she was a hollow."

Ichigo grabbed Hinata's hand. "I'm taking you home."

"Huh?" Hinata pulled against his hand, reaching for a chest on the floor a short distance away. "I don't want to go home yet! I want to train!"

Ichigo spun on her, pulling her close. "I'm taking you home."

She strained on his hand some more, but he tugged her out of the shop. Shinji raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Ichigo dragged Hinata down the street.

"Let me go!"

"No," Ichigo growled, marching purposefully down the street.

"Ichigo!" Hinata cried, stumbling behind him.

He slowed just a little, but kept a firm hold on her wrist. "Kisuke is right. You're not fighting Aizen with us."

"Why?!"

He stopped and faced her. They were standing beside the river now, most of the way home. "I don't care that you're a hollow. Nobody else would believe that you are a hollow anyways. Aizen is not a person to mess with and he wants you, Hinata. If you fight, he'll take you."

"No he won't! The scary man won't get me!"

"Hinata! We can't lose you."

She stared at him, speechless.

"I can't lose you," Ichigo whispered. "When mom died . . . Hinata, our family needs you. Dad, Karin, Yuzu . . . you're one of us. If you fight . . ." He swallowed and shook his head. "You're not fighting this time, Hinata."

He started walking again, pulling her along. He could hear her sobbing softly behind him. He felt terrible telling her no, but he was not going to give Aizen what he wanted.

. . .

Isshin sat beside Hinata's bed and watched her sleep. She cried herself to sleep too often for his liking. Ichigo had brought her home, stormed through the house and walked out without a word. Kisuke had called ahead and told him what had happened. They were right, of course: Hinata should not be allowed to fight this time. Shaking his head sadly, he kissed her forehead and left the room. He would do what he could to keep her out of the fight, but the choice was hers to make. What had him confused though was the coat she had shown up in. It looked just like the coat that Masaki had worn the day she had died.


	40. Chapter 37 Trapped

I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 37 Trapped

Kisuke pushed his hat up as he looked at his masterpiece. It had taken a month, but it was finally ready. It looked like a small chocolate ball. He gave a sigh; he didn't want to do this, but it would be the only thing that would prevent her from going to Hueco Mundo. He heard the jingle from the front door followed by Hinata's cheerful voice announcing her arrival. Kisuke pulled out his fan and gave a smile as he rounded the corner to see her.

With a smile, she rushed towards him as he opened his arms to receive her hug. His planted feet helped prevent him from being pushed back. He ruffled her hair before speaking: "How are you my dear?"

Tilting her head back, she looked up at him. "I still want to fight!"

He looked down at her. "Nope! But I have some new candy for you to try."

She gave a pout at his nope, but cheered up at the mention of candy. "Really?"

"Yep!" He pulled out a bag that he had dropped the small chocolate ball into. As he handed it to her, she quickly grabbed the bag and started to eat. He watched as the chocolate ball vanished. "Are you here to train with Chad again?"

She looked up from her candy to give a nod. "I promised him I would help him get stronger, and you and Ichigo won't let me train with anyone else." She gave him a glare before her attention was once again captivated by the bag of sweets.

. . .

Ulquiorra walked down the hall back towards his rooms. The time had come. Aizen had finally given him the order to go and catch both Hinata and one of her friends and bring them back to Hueco Mundo. For the past month he had tried to think of ways to not bring Hinata back, but he couldn't find a way that wouldn't make Aizen suspicious.

He had sent the others to cause a distraction while he grabbed Hinata's friend who had been spending time in the soul society. Fingering the bracelet around his wrist, he let his mind go blank so he could focus on the task at hand.

. . .

After training with Chad, Hinata had been on her way home when she felt a Garganta open followed by a sharp rise in hollow spiritual pressure. Turning sharply, she raced back towards Uncle Kisuke's. She was halfway there when she felt one of the hollows engage with Ichigo. She slid to a stop and turned to face where Ichigo was. The Vizards were nearby, and they would help him if he needed it. Turning, she continued on to where her other friends were. She was almost there when she felt a rise in the hollows' spiritual pressure, followed by a rise in Toshiro's spiritual pressure. Hinata rounded the corner to see Toshiro falling from the sky. Running, she slid and was able to catch him. As he landed in her arms, her head jerked back to where Ichigo was. He had been hurt and was also falling. Hinata carefully placed Toshiro on the ground. She wanted to help Ichigo but her friends here needed her help as well. Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika seemed to be having a hard time with their opponents. Jumping to her feet, she raced off to get closer, summoning her Quincy bow as she ran.

She watched with horror and determination as the hollow pointed spikes at Rangiku. Drawing her bow, she released an arrow only to watch as something else got there first. She turned to see Uncle Kisuke standing there with his sword drawn, smirking up at the hollow. Another hollow was sneaking up on Uncle Kisuke. Hinata barely had started to cry out a warning when Uncle Kisuke turned just in time to see the hollow, his eyes going wide as he deflected it with his sword. Hinata, finally close enough, dove towards the small hollow tackling him to the ground.

They rolled a couple of times before Hinata ended up on top, glaring down at the hollow in front of her. He was a young arrancar with a bat shaped mask on his head. What threw her off though was a sense of familiarity that she had with him. There was also the fact that he felt empty. Not like how Ulqui felt, but it was as if he had lost everything that made him an individual. He stared up at her with a childlike intensity. He raised his hand as if to touch her. She quickly moved her head just in time as she felt the brush of a bara against the side of her face. It threw the hair on her left side up in a fan.

The arrancar's eyes got even wider. His still outstretched hand touched her hair as it fell back down. "That's not very nice," she said.

"Hinata!" She turned to see Uncle Kisuke with wide eyes running towards her and his sword drawn. He started to swing his sword just as the other arrancar with eight tails swung out at him, knocking him over. This caused the energy blast he had been releasing to fly towards them. Tightening her grip on the child arrancar, Hinata throw them out of the way. The child arrancar's eyes followed the energy attack as he gave a coo. Then his eyes went back to her as he once again reached up towards her hair, holding it in his hand.

She didn't feel any evil intent coming from him. She quickly swept him up in her arms and ran over to where Uncle Kisuke was. She felt the cooling of the air as Toshiro once again joined the battle. Uncle Kisuke was just starting to rise from the rubble of his shed. When his eyes met hers, he lunged forward as if to grab the arrancar. Hinata easily turned to the side as he flew past, his hand brushing her back. He tried a few more times before coming to a stop and looking at her.

"Hinata, put the arrancar down."

Hinata tilted her head as she looked at him. "Why?"

"Hinata, he is dangerous. You need to put him down." He was slowly walking towards her.

Hinata pushed her head out of the way as once again the young arrancar sent off a bara. She looked down at him. "That's not nice." He smiled up at her as once again he started to play with her hair. "See, he's not dangerous. He's just a young child who needs to learn."

Uncle Kisuke gave her a strange look, but had stopped approaching her. Hinata turned to face where Ichigo was. Feeling that her friends had it in hand here, she raced off towards Ichigo. Uncle Kisuke called out to her, but she kept running. She felt the moment Ulqui arrived; he seemed to be extremely conflicted and sad. Hinata felt herself go faster as she tried to get to him. As she rounded the comer, she saw that Ulqui had stabbed the blue arrancar that had been there when Ichigo had hurt Chad's feelings. Their eyes met, and his asked for forgiveness.

"The mission is complete. We're going back."

Hinata found herself and the young arrancar surrounded by a white light that seemed to circle them.

"NOO!" Hinata turned to see Uncle Kisuke standing just outside the light.

Smiling Hinata walked over to him, only to find that she couldn't cross the light. "Uncle Kisuke?"

"Hinata!" Turning, she saw Ichigo running towards her.

She was about to say something when her feet started to lift off the ground. The child arrancar turned his head up, and he began to coo and smile up at the garganta that had opened above them. Hinata tried to throw herself against the barrier that was around her, but all it did was throw her back to the center. She looked over to see Ulqui also in a light just like hers with the blue arrancar. His eyes, still filled with sadness, pled for forgiveness. She could hear Ichigo yelling up at her and Uncle Kisuke's fear radiated strongly.

They were about to enter the garganta when Hinata felt like she had hit a wall. The arrancar child began to lift out of her arms and he looked down at her in confusion, reaching out towards her. He grabbed some of her hair. But as soon as his body passed through the garganta his hand became stuck. Hinata also found herself being pressed even harder into the invisible wall. She could feel her gigai taking damage as it struggled to stay together against the pressure. The yelling from below increased as others gathered below. Hinata found a scream building in her throat from the pain that she was in. The last thing she saw was Ulqui pulling the young arrancar from her hair with eyes wide with fear.

The garganta closed and she began to fall back down to Karakura as the world went black.


	41. Chapter 38 Losing a Friend

I do not own Bleach

*Hey readers. I am Frozen In Idaho's co-author of this fanfiction, and I offer my dearest apologies to you. The absence of updates has been completely my fault. Despite the long gap, we are still excited to finish out this arc and hope that you will continue to support us and keep reading to find out how this all ends (: We still have a few surprises up our sleeves for you and hope you hang in there with us. Thank you so much for reading!

Chapter 38 Losing a Friend

Hinata awoke to find that she was still in pain. Sitting up gingerly, she found that she was back in her room. Her Daddy was sleeping with his head leaning against her bed. She gave a small giggle, but stopped when she found it hurt. Looking down, she could see that she was still in her gigai and it was badly damaged. Hinata could see that attempts to heal it had been made, but hadn't been able to fix it completely. She wondered why Uncle Kisuke hadn't just given her a new one. She stopped to take a moment to find her friends. All of the Shinigami, along with Chad where with Uncle Kisuke, and the Vizards where back at their place. They all seemed to have a nervous feeling. Uryu was still training hard with his dad. Ichigo was asleep in his bed; he seemed to be in a lot of pain as well. Yuzu and Karin where also in his room sleeping. What confused Hinata and caused her to get out of bed and walk to his room was the fact that Orihime was in his room as well.

Hinata opened Ichigo's door to see Orihime leaning over Ichigo with her face close to his. "What are you doing, Orihime?"

Orihime jumped back, startled, and lost her balance, falling backwards. Hinata was surprised to see her start to fall through the wall. Hinata ran over and was able to grab her hand just before it passed through the wall and pulled Orihime back into the room. "When did you learn to walk through walls?"

Orihime just stared at her with big eyes. "How can you see me!?"

Hinata tilted her head. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you?"

Orihime just kept shaking her head. "He told me that no one but arrancars would be able to see me."

"Who told you that?"

Orihime went to open her mouth before closing it. Then, in a soft whisper, "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"He told me I couldn't tell anyone."

"Who?"

"Hinata . . ." Orihime seemed to try and look at anything but Hinata or Ichigo. When she looked back, her eyes went wide. "Hinata, you're hurt!"

Hinata looked down to see that her pajamas were being soaked through with blood around her middle. She had a moment to be thankful that she wasn't wearing her bunny onesie before Orihime was gently herding her towards Ichigo's bed. Once there, Orihime moved Ichigo as much as she could to make room for Hinata. "Lie down, lie down." Orihime carefully maneuvered the room, avoiding the girls as they slept on the floor. In a few short moments, Hinata found herself and Ichigo incased in an orange shield. Hinata felt the hole in her chest start to heal. She felt her eyes growing heavy as she turned to face Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime looked at her with big sad eyes. The light had just vanished when Hinata's eyes slid closed. She was almost asleep when she heard Orihime whisper, "Thank you, Kurosaki-san, Hinata. Goodbye."

Hinata wanted to ask what she meant, but sleep overcame her.

. . .

Ichigo awoke in the morning to find something tightly wrapped around him. He tried to sit up only to find that the weight was holding him down. Opening his eyes, he found that all he could see was orange. It took him a moment to realize his assailant was Hinata. In the next moment he remembered her being pulled into the sky followed by her blood chilling scream before the garganta closed and she came racing back down to earth. Kisuke had been able to catch her, but he couldn't forget the sight of her body covered in blood. Gently, he pulled her off him to look at her. The sight of her being completely fine threw him off. He had been there as he insisted that they heal Hinata before him. They had been able to do very little. Kisuke had been cursing up a storm the whole time saying he hadn't seen this happening. When Ichigo had asked him what he meant, Kisuke had brushed the question off. As Ichigo went to brush Hinata's hair from her face, he saw his own hand. It was completely healed. He remembered distinctly that no one had been able to do anything for either of them. It was then that he felt the familiar spiritual pressure of Inoue.

"It was from Inoue Orihime most likely."

At the sound of the voice Ichigo turned around to see Toshiro standing in his window. Toshiro cast a glance towards the still sleeping Hinata before looking Ichigo in the eyes once again. "Come with me right away, Kurosaki. It's an emergency."

Ichigo cast another glance at Hinata before carefully untangling himself from Hinata and the bed. With a quick search, he found Kuon snuggling with Hinata. With a glare Ichigo pulled Kuon away and quickly pulled out the mod souls pill. Plopping in into his mouth he entered his soul form and glared down at Kuon who still seemed to be trying to figure out what just happened.

"Kuon, I have to go out for a bit protect Hinata while I'm gone."

Kuon's eyes finally focused on the glaring Ichigo then shifted to the still sleeping Hinata. "Don't worry I won't let anything happen to her."

With that Ichigo turned to Toshiro who was still standing in the window watching him. "Let's go." With a nod they both jumped out the window and ran towards Orihime's apartment.

. . .

Kuon sat in the doorway, watching Hinata sleep. Ichigo had left him to watch over her while he ran off to some important soul reaper meeting. As Hinata stirred from her sleep, he struggled to force a smile onto his face. She looked around the room with wide eyes, before she spotted Kuon.

"Where's Ichigo?" she asked.

"Gone," Kuon said with a shrug. "He doesn't tell me where he's going. Just threatens me. How are you feeling?"

Hinata stretched and smiled. "I feel great!"

Kuon gave a weak smile. "That's great."

There was a moment of silence. "I thought you were going to die." Kuon said in almost a whisper.

Hinata move to sit by Kuon, "I was okay."

Kuon shock his head and his shoulders shock, "No Hinata you weren't. When they brought you in yesterday you were covered in blood and they said they couldn't do much more then wrap your wounds. Ichigo was in the same state, but when I woke up this morning both of you where healed –"

A knock came at the door, making Kuon jump. "Hinata!" Isshin called. "Are you in there? How are you feeling?" The knob turned.

Hinata sprung out of bed and threw her arms around Isshin's neck. "I'm all better, daddy!"

He drew back and looked her over in surprise. "So you are . . . so you are . . ." He looked around the room and spotted Kuon (in Ichigo's body) cowering on the bed. "I think you should stay home today. We could watch more Sailor Moon."

Hinata shook her head. "I'm all better, daddy. I want to go to school!"

Isshin frowned, but knew that it would be no use arguing. "Are you sure, Hinata?"

"Yep!" She hurried out of the room to get dressed, while Isshin turned to Kuon.

"Where's Ichigo?"

Kuon gave him a miserable look. "He left for some soul reaper meeting and told me to look after Hinata while he was gone."

"How was she healed?"

Kuon threw his arms in the air. "I don't know! It happened sometime during the night. Ichigo's not happy though, and I'm not either. Something's wrong about what happened to Hinata yesterday. You shouldn't let her go to school. She'll want to help Ichigo, whatever he's doing."

"Breakfast is ready!" Yuzu called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Hinata called back from the other room before bouncing past the door and down the stairs.

Isshin shook his head. "I can't stop her, and neither can you, Kuon. Uruhara had something to do with yesterday's incident, and I have a bad feeling that it was meant to protect her, not hurt her. Whatever happens, it will be her own choice."

Kuon couldn't contain his anger any longer. "She almost died yesterday! Somebody has to protect her! Do you honestly think you can handle another incident like yesterday? I know I can't! She saved me, and it's time that somebody saves her!"

"Kuon," Isshin said softly, "she is dying."

"Don't you – wait, what?!"

"Ichigo's dense, so he hasn't noticed yet. Hinata doesn't know either. She's too young to understand. She's imbalanced, Kuon, and it will eventually kill her. I'm trying to give her the best life that I can, and that means making her happy to the best of my ability. School makes her happy. Fighting alongside Ichigo makes her happy."

Tears trickled down Kuon's cheeks. "What can we do to save her?"

"I don't know," Isshin whispered. "I don't know."

. . .

Something was wrong. Hinata fidgeted in class, watching Ichigo who was slumped in his chair at his desk, head down, and avoiding everyone's gaze. Orihime was missing as well. Across the room, Tatsuki fidgeted nervously and sent angry glares in Ichigo's direction every now and then. Hinata wanted to talk to Ichigo, but he had come to class at the last minute and completely ignored her.

"Kurosaki, Hinata!"

Hinata jumped and turned to look at the teacher.

"Please begin reading from page 67."

"Of course," Hinata said, standing and looking at her textbook.

When the bell rang for break, Ichigo slid out of his chair into the hallway. Hinata followed after him, but Tatsuki got to him first.

"Ichigo! You know where she is, don't you? Orihime . . . she's gone!" Tatsuki huffed.

Ichigo turned, his face blank. "Why would I know that? Maybe you haven't looked hard enough."

Tatsuki rushed forward, her fist connecting with Ichigo's jaw. "Her presence is gone! Yesterday . . . it just faded away! But you know where she is! I know you do!"

Hinata crept closer, holding back tears. Tatsuki's words were true. Hinata couldn't sense Orihime anywhere . . . at least, not in the human world. She followed the thread connected to Orihime. It was faint, but it was there. Orihime was in Hueco Mundo. But what was she doing there? What had she said last night?

". . . I've seen you," Tatsuki sobbed, drawing Hinata's attention back. "Running around in that black kimono. I know everything you're hiding. Just tell me . . ."

"It has nothing to do with you," Ichigo said flatly.

Tatsuki screamed, punching Ichigo again with enough force to break the window behind him.

Hinata screamed in surprise, running now to Ichigo's side. Keigo grabbed Tatsuki from behind. "That's enough!" he yelled, but Tatsuki screamed at Ichigo, "Just what am I to you anyway?! Aren't we friends?!"

Ichigo wiped the blood dripping from his chin and looked to Keigo and Mizuiro. "Look after Tatsuki, will you?" Then he turned to walk away.

"Asshole," Keigo muttered at his back, still holding the now sobbing Tatsuki.

Hinata ran and planted herself in front of Ichigo. "Why are you hurting Tatsuki? That was mean of you, Ichigo."

His face was still blank. "Just leave me alone, Hinata. It's none of your business either." He brushed past her and continued down the hall.

"Orihime's my friend too," Hinata whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks as she watched her brother walk away.

. . .

Hinata followed Ichigo after school. Or at least, that's what she intended to do. He was acting strange. Pausing by the park, she searched for familiar presences. Ichigo was a mile away, still acting weird. Chad was at Uncle Kisuke's, practicing inside the shop. Uryu was . . . leaving the hospital! Hinata perked up and raced to find her friend.

"Uryu!" she cried, racing up behind him. He turned, a look of confusion on his face quickly turning into a smile.

"Hinata! Am I glad to see you!" Uryu gave her a quick hug and then looked her over. "You were hurt. What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Hinata said, looking at him with her head tilted to the side. "I'm all better."

Uryu frowned. "Urahara told me you'd been hurt."

Hinata shook her head. "Uncle Kisuke is mad at me. But I didn't do anything."

"You promise?"

"Yep!"

Uryu knew Hinata wasn't telling him something, but he decided to let it go. "Are you coming to Urahara's shop too then?"

"Is that where you're going?"

Uryu nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "He said I needed to help Ichigo."

Hinata smiled. "Then I'm coming too!"

Together they walked to Uncle Kisuke's shop, chatting about Uryu's training. As they rounded the corner, Uryu asked, "Have you been practicing, Hinata?"

"Yes!" she said happily, bouncing into the courtyard. She skidded to a stop, however, when she saw Uncle Kisuke standing in the doorway.

"Go home, Hinata." Uncle Kisuke growled. "Don't make me call Isshin to come get you."

Hinata took Uryu's hand. "I'm going to help Ichigo find Orihime."

"No."

"She's my friend too. It's not fair –"

"I said no, Hinata. It's too dangerous for you."

"What are you talking about?" Uryu asked, looking between Uncle Kisuke and Hinata with a confused expression. "Hinata is a great fighter, so she could come with us."

Hinata stared at Uncle Kisuke, who seemed to be struggling to find words to argue why she shouldn't come. "She can't come because –"

"What's going on?" Chad asked, coming out of the shop.

Uncle Kisuke twitched angrily.

"Where's Ichigo? We should leave soon."

"Yes!" Hinata said. "I want to go!"

Chad smiled at her, but Uncle Kisuke glared furiously at her.

"Ah, hell," Ichigo said from behind, causing Hinata and Uryu to both jump. "Go home, Hinata!"

"No!" Hinata said, feeling trapped between her uncle and her brother. "I want to help! Orihime's my friend too!"

Uryu looked between Uncle Kisuke and Ichigo in confusion. "Will someone please explain what's going on here? I'm missing something."

Hinata cringed under the glares from Uncle Kisuke and Ichigo. Uryu's hand tightened around hers, and she shrunk against his side. Why wouldn't they let her fight?


	42. Chapter 39 Objective

I do not own bleach

Chapter 39 Objective

Kisuke Urahara couldn't remember the last time he was this mad. He was actually shaking from anger as he glared at Hinata from under the brim of his hat. Ichigo likewise was glaring at her from the entrance to the yard. If he weren't so angry, he would have felt sorry for the poor girl. She should know better, and yet her innocence kept driving her to do the stupidest things.

"Hello?" Ishida said, trying to get their attention.

"She needs to go home," Ichigo growled, his fists clenching and unclenching. "It's not safe for her to come with us this time."

"And why not?" Ishida argued. "She's a fantastic fighter, stronger than all of us combined, and you know it! Give me one good reason why she shouldn't help us!"

"Aizen wants her," Kisuke said darkly. "It is because she is stronger than all of you that she can't go."

"What would Aizen want with her?" Ishida laughed.

"It's none of your business why," Ichigo growled.

"Because she's a hollow," Kisuke said bluntly. Ichigo paled and Ishida spun to face Kisuke.

"What was that?" Ishida asked, his already pale face going a shade whiter.

"Hinata Kurosaki, is not a Quincy, fool boy. She is a full-fledged arrancar. You're an idiot if you hadn't noticed the pieces of her mask always attached to her –"

"That's enough," Ichigo growled. "It doesn't matter what she is. She's not coming."

"Arrancar?" Ishida whispered, glancing at the orange haired girl clinging to his arm. She looked back at him with wide eyes. "Is it true?" Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. That's still no excuse for her not to come."

"Hinata," Kisuke said, his tone going flat, "can you leave your gigai right now?"

Hinata wouldn't meet his eyes. "I tried yesterday, but something was wrong," she whispered. "You hurt me, Uncle Kisuke."

Kisuke nodded. "I knew that they would try to take her back to Hueco Mundo with your friend Inoue, so I fed her a chocolate that temporarily is fusing her to her gigai and making it so that she cannot return to Hueco Mundo. Aizen is seeking out all of the strongest arrancar, and Hinata is the strongest one of all. I don't know how Aizen found her, but he desperately wants her. If she goes to Hueco Mundo, we'll be handing her directly over to Aizen."

Ishida pushed his glasses up his nose and scowled at Kisuke. "She would never turn herself over to Aizen."

"I'm doing this for her protection!" Kisuke finally yelled.

"She's not going," Ichigo said again, brushing past Hinata and Ishida and into the yard. "Chad, let's go."

Hinata was sobbing now. "It's not fair! I want to fight! I . . . I . . . I know my way around Hueco Mundo!"

Ishida stiffened beside her. "Home," he whispered. "Hinata, Hueco Mundo . . . is your home?"

"Are you coming or not, Ishida?" Ichigo growled from the doorway.

Ishida grabbed her shoulders. "I wish there was something I could do, Hinata."

She sank to the ground, crying. He gave her a bewildered look, then dashed after Ichigo.

Kisuke watched Hinata cry, at last feeling sorry for his harsh words. Another movement at the edge of the courtyard caught his eye. Isshin had finally come for her.

. . .

Isshin watched Urahara disappear into his shop before moving into the courtyard and scooping his little girl into his arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I know, baby girl, I know," he whispered, patting her back as he waited for her to calm down. Kuon crept up behind him, hesitant as he lay a hand on Hinata's head.

At last, her tears dried up and she looked into her father's face. "They left without me. Daddy, why won't they let me fight?"

Isshin took a deep breath. "Because it's not your fight, Hinata. You'll have your chance though. Another fight is coming."

She tilted her head to the side, confused.

"I'm going to train you from now on, Hinata. How about that? Can daddy train you?"

"What?!" Kuon gasped. "Sir, you can't –"

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Isshin snapped at Kuon. "What do you say, Hinata?"

"You'll let me fight?" she whispered.

"That's right."

"You'll train me?"

"If you let me."

A slow smile crept across Hinata's face. "I want to train with you, daddy."

Isshin pulled his little girl to her feet and squeezed her hand. "Then let's go train."

. . .

Ulquiorra frowned as he watched the Inoue girl. Something about her reminded him strongly of Hinata. He twisted the bracelet around his wrist as he tried to place what the similarity was. Could it be her fierce determination? Or the innocence that seemed to shroud the girl? Whatever it was, it made him feel guilty for taking her. And yet . . . orders were orders.

"Where is the other girl?" Aizen had asked when Ulquiorra had returned with only the Inoue girl. "The red headed arrancar, where is she?"

Ulquiorra had stared at him blankly. "Something went wrong. She wasn't able to enter Hueco Mundo. It's quite possible that she is dead."

"No," Aizen had mused. "She wouldn't be dead. She's too strong for that."

Ulquiorra had left Aizen to his mutterings and scheming.

"Be careful, Hinata," he whispered now as he watched his charge through a window on the door. He knew that she wasn't dead, though the episode from yesterday had almost sent him panicking and blowing his cover. The attempt to bring her to Hueco Mundo had almost killed her. He knew through the link that they shared that she had survived, but he still worried. "Stay in the human world just a little bit longer."

Footsteps down the hallway alerted Ulquiorra back to attention. He could feel it too. The Kurosaki boy had finally arrived, and, as usual, he was leaking massive amounts of spirit pressure. Ulquiorra sighed and went to assume his position. It wouldn't be long now before Aizen made his move, which would leave Ulquiorra second in command of Hueco Mundo in his absence.

. . .

Isshin brandished his wooden sword, watching Hinata carefully. Her stance and confidence still surprised him at times. This was his little girl. She shouldn't have to be battle ready or even know how to use her sword. Urahara's little trick of trapping her in the gigai made training difficult, but at the same time he was grateful that her abilities were contained for the time being.

He had heard all of it. Urahara's anger, the Ishida boy's incredulity, and how his little girl had nearly died. He was surprised to find that he wasn't angry with Urahara; he understood that the man had been doing what he had thought was best for Hinata.

"Ok, Hinata," he said. "I'm going to teach you Getsuga Tenshou."

"Ichigo's used that move before," Hinata said thoughtfully.

Isshin only let this startle him for a minute. Of course she had seen Ichigo use Getsuga before. It was a hereditary move of the Shiba line. "Do you remember how Ichigo used it?" he asked.

"Yep!" she said with a bright smile. She raised the wooden sword over her head and brought it down in a quick, sweeping motion and called out, "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Though her powers were suppressed by her gigai, she still held an incredible amount of spirit energy. With the slash of her sword, and large gust of wind sent sand flying in Isshin's direction. He raised his arms to shield his face and smiled.

"Good," he told her once the sand had settled. "We're going to practice that some more. When you get tired, we'll go home."

"Ok, daddy."

Up above the practice area, the Vizards watched on as spectators. Hiyori sniffed and glanced up at Shinji who was watching with narrowed eyes. "You know what this means, right?" she asked.

The others all looked to Shinji too.

He straightened and met their eyes. "Ah, crap," he muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Love asked.

"What else?" Hiyori snapped. "We're going to fight of course!"

"Nothing else to do," Shinji sighed. "She's family, and Ichigo is too. We fight with our family."

. . .

Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu were having the strangest experience of their lives. They had barely escaped an underground chamber after battling three very strange arrancars, run through more sand than any of them cared to recount, and run into the strangest creatures of this blackened world. Their leader was a girl who seemed to be about six years old named Nelliel, or Nell for short. After all they had learned of arrancar in Hueco Mundo so far, Ichigo had been surprised to find that Nell was nearly harmless. Along the way, they had also come across Rukia and Renji, who had come to join their fight.

"Itsigo!" Nell slurred, clinging to his sleeve. "Where are we going?"

Ichigo, for some reason, found that Nell reminded him of Hinata. He shook the thought from his head as he looked forward and pointed towards the massive building ahead of them.

"Oh!" Nell gasped, fear suddenly clouding her face. "I don't want to go there Itsigo! Don't go in there!"

"We have to," Ichigo scolded her. "My friend's in there, and we're going to rescue her."

. . .

Nikko shuddered, pulling back from Hinata as she explained what her father had told her. "That's a very risky move, Hinata. Are you sure?"

Hinata nodded. "Daddy said that the final Getsuga Tenshou was the only way we'd be able to defeat the bad man. When Ichigo gets back, he's going to teach it to him too."

Masaki looked between Nikko and Hinata with a confused expression. "What is the final Getsuga Tenshou?"

Nikko twisted her hands in her lap. "Getsuga is a move that runs in Isshin's line. It is Ichigo's most powerful move. The final Getsuga Tenshou gets its name from the word 'final.' This means that once it's used, Shinigami powers will fade away, leaving a husk behind. Isshin wouldn't suggest it unless the situation were desperate."

"You mean, I won't have my powers anymore?" Hinata asked.

Nikko sighed. "I don't know. But using it means . . . Hinata, when you fight, you use my power. As your sword, you rely on me. The final Getsuga is a battle move that requires that you don't just use my power, but you _become_ me. We would merge as one, fighting together under our full power. That's why it's dangerous. That's why there's a chance . . . that you'd lose your soul reaper powers."

Hinata frowned. "Does that mean that Nikko would go away?"

Nikko was surprised when a tear splashed into her lap. "Yes, Hinata. If you lose your soul reaper powers, then I will fade away."

"I don't want that!" Hinata cried. "I'll tell daddy to find another way."

Nikko gave a shaky laugh. "There might not be another way."


End file.
